Second case of HMPV confirmed in Thessaloniki: the patient is the wife of a 71-year-old man

Second case confirmed Chinese HMPV virus in Thessaloniki. She turned out to be sick wife 71 year old patientwho is being treated at Papanicolaou Hospital.

According to the information, we are talking about a 60-year-old patient with kidney disease who developed symptoms Chinese HMPV virus and on January 4 she was admitted to the hospital AKHEPA.

The woman was initially hospitalized like someone with the flu V first therapeutic department along with two other patients also suffering from kidney disease.

A few days ago she was given a specialized test and was recently found to have a positive reaction to Chinese HMPV virus.

She has now been moved to an isolation ward, and the other two patients who were in the ward with her have been placed in quarantine with visits suspended.

Metapneumovirus: what you need to know

Human metapneumovirus is an enveloped RNA virus that is very similar to the better known respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Its more distant “relative” is the influenza virus.

HMPV was first isolated and described in 2001 in the Netherlands. However, based on immune analysis, it had been circulating in the human population for at least 50 years before its discovery.

HMPV is transmitted by airborne droplets and causes an acute respiratory tract infection with symptoms typical of respiratory viruses: cough, runny nose, fever, etc. According to studies from different countries, HMPV infection is responsible for 4–16% of ARVI cases in the world.

The infection may be asymptomatic or accompanied by bronchitis and severe pneumonia. HMPV is most dangerous to infants, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems.

At the moment, there is no high-quality epidemiological data on the lethality of the virus in the population. Typically, the infection in adults occurs in the form of a mild cold, although in some outbreaks the proportion of deaths reached 11% of cases. It is important to note that we were talking about a specific population – people living in nursing homes with a median age of 84 years.

There are no effective vaccines or specific antiviral treatment against HMPV yet.

Should I worry about this?

No, there are good reasons for this.

HMPV has been in the human population long enough that the vast majority of people are immune to it. It is known that by the age of 5–10 years, almost 100% of children contract HMPV in one form or another, acquiring immunity to the virus. This immunity does not completely protect against infection: on average, 5–10% of the adult population gets sick again every year. However, for those who have recovered from the infection, with rare exceptions, it passes in a mild or asymptomatic form.

An increase in infectious diseases is observed in the Northern Hemisphere every winter season. According to the World Health Organization's influenza monitoring data, the 2024/2025 season is no different from previous ones. Against the backdrop of a seasonal wave of incidence of ordinary influenza, the synchronized increase in infections with metapneumovirus is almost unnoticeable – this can be seen by reading the original reports and graphs from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 virus, rumors new “viruses from China” appear regularly. Almost a year ago, there was a similar wave of interest in pneumonia in China – then, against the backdrop of the traditional seasonal increase in incidence, many expected a new covid that would come from the same source. “Athens News” analyzed these messages, which were similar to the current ones, with the only difference being that the metapneumovirus was not widely discussed then.

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