While cases are climbing in China, the situation is very different from what it was when Covid-19 emerged five years ago, medical experts say. HMPV is common and decades old.

We already have the virus here, but we don't expect to see it at high levels now because it's our summer and the population globally has immunity to this virus,’ says Professor Cheryl Cohen, head of the Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.

The human metapneumovirus is reportedly surging in China, but should Americans be concerned? Here's what to know about HMPV symptoms and more.

News that northern China is seeing a surge of the respiratory illness called human metapneumovirus (HMPV), bringing an uptick in hospitalizations, is sparking a bit of anxious déjà vu on social media.

China is currently facing a virus that's still very little known. Many people who contracted the virus in northern China are flocking to hospitals, causing overcrowding in several Chinese hospitals. The virus in question is believed to be HMPV,

HMPV, or human metapneumovirus, is currently surging in China, with children and the elderly said to be most at risk from the virus

High levels of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) have been reported in parts of China. The news has sparked some concern, no doubt reminding people of a certain virus that erupted from this part of the world almost exactly five years ago.