DOH allays public fears over HMPV

There is no reason to panic despite the detection in the country of the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), which is now causing a spike in respiratory infections in China, according to infectious disease specialist Dr. Rontgene Solante.

- Mayen Jaymalin, Pia Lee-Brago

“This is not something new that we can compare with COVID when the hospitalization rate increased and severe cases were many. The cause (of HMPV) is not like that of COVID,” Solante said in a radio interview yesterday.

Citing results of the Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) surveillance of the Department of Health (DOH), Solante said a few cases of HMPV have already been detected in the country.

But he stressed that HMPV has not caused an increase in hospital admissions nor in the number of patients in intensive care units nationwide.

He explained that China and the United States have good surveillance systems that can easily detect HMPV and other respiratory pathogens that normally increase during this time of the year.