Is the U.S. in the thick of the respiratory epidemic?” John W. Williams tells a CDC epidemiologist on the recent outbreak of mycoplasma pneumonia
While HMPV can cause serious complications like pneumonia, it usually causes only a cold. The United States has low levels of what is called hmmv. But experts stress that HMPV does not appear to pose anything close to the threat posed by the flu and COVID-19, which is still killing hundreds of people every week, according to a report released Tuesday by the CDC.
There’s also yet another respiratory virus that has been getting attention: the human metapneumovirus (HMPV). That’s because China is reporting a surge of HMPV in the north.
John Williams used to spend most of his time trying to convince skeptical doctors that the metapneumoviruses was real. Williams smiled when he heard about the recent outbreak in northern China. The forgotten burden of public health was finally being taken seriously.
“We’re tracking that closely,” says the CDC’s Jackson of HMPV. The level in the U.S. is at a normal one for this time of year. It’s not out of whack compared to the past seasons.
The WHO said it hasn’t received any reports of unusual outbreak patterns. “Chinese authorities report that the health care system is not overwhelmed and there have been no emergency declarations or responses triggered.”
All this is compared to some common infections, according to a professor of the University of Colorado School of Medicine who is a chair for the committee on infectious diseases. Mycoplasma pneumonia, which can cause “walking pneumonia,” is still spreading.
People travel during the holidays to get together with their family and friends. The bad news is that this often means they come home with some nasty bug. And we’re in the thick of that again right now.
We are buried with the flu. Dr. Schaffner is an infectious disease researcher at VF University in Nashville, Tennessee. People are sneezing and coughing in the emergency room. We’ve had people waiting on gurneys — those stretchers — waiting for admission. We are really full.”
“Respiratory season is here,” says Dr. Brendan Jackson, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It is getting to be in full swing now with a lot of people getting sick, a lot of people missing work, missing school, just feeling lousy in general.”
No one knows how bad things could get this winter. The CDC says that unless some more highly transmissible new COVID-19 variant emerges, it still looks like this winter will be like last year.
But that’s not great — it still means many children missing school, parents missing work and grandparents and other vulnerable people ending up in the hospital and even dying.
Predictions for Influenza in the Early Stages of Epidemics and Influenza during Flu/CoVID-19 Seasons: A Reappraisal
Three viruses are going to hit with peaks that are going to be close to each other. “As one begins to go down, the other begins to peak,” says Dr. Andrew Pavia, a researcher at the University of Utah. We’re not going to get a break like a series of snowstorms. What it means, I think, is we’re in for a pretty miserable January before things start to let up.”
There will likely be a long tail even after all, according to a doctor who wrote a book about Pandemics.
Rivers and others recommend that people wash their hands a lot, mask up in crowded places and, of course, get vaccinated. Despite the fact that the flu and COVID-19 shots are not perfect, they still do a pretty good job of keepingvulnerable people out of the hospital. Most people still haven’t gotten either of those shots, but it’s not too late.
If someone has a bug, it’s good to be tested to see which one it is. People can check the flu at home this year with new tests that are without a prescription. That could lead to quicker decisions about whether to use antiviral drugs.