Over five million Germans currently suffer from a respiratory disease. At the same time, hospitals in China are full. Is that a threat here too?
Images of overcrowded hospitals in China have been circulating on social media for several days. So far it is not entirely clear what is behind it. An outbreak of the so-called human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is suspected. The number of infections with the pathogen is also increasing in Germany: The current weekly report from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on acute respiratory diseases reports an increase – albeit a small one. Accordingly, hMPV was detected in eleven percent of the samples submitted in the first calendar week (in the previous report it was seven percent).
However, influenza is detected much more frequently (21 percent), followed by rhinoviruses (15 percent). Covid-19 was discovered in six percent of cases. In summary, the RKI comes to the conclusion that the total number of respiratory diseases in Germany, at 5.3 million, is at a comparatively high level for the time of year.
The images from China bring back bad memories for many. Is there a risk of the next pandemic here? However, in an interview with t-online, virologist Alexander Kekulé gives the all-clear: “This will not trigger a new pandemic.”
hMPV has been adapting to humans for too long for that. “The virus probably jumped from a bird to humans 200 years ago and has been circulating in Europe at least since the 1950s,” said the virologist. “There are no new variants and no unusual or particularly severe courses. A large part of the world’s population has already become acquainted with the virus and has good immune protection. This cannot be compared with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.”
Accordingly, the hMPV infection progresses like an infection with the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), with fever, cough and runny nose. Small children are particularly affected, but it can also be dangerous for older people or people with weakened immune systems.
The reports from China are no cause for alarm,” explains Kekulé. “Increased respiratory infections in children occur every year in the northern provinces. As part of a pilot project for the early detection of unusual pathogens, these cases have recently been examined more closely, which is why hMPV is being detected more frequently. Catch-up effects may also play a role because the countermeasures also prevented hMPV infections during the corona pandemic. The Chinese authorities have not confirmed the reports on social media of supposedly overwhelmed hospitals.”