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.

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

As cases of the HMPV virus continue to increase in the U.S. and in China, here's what you need to know about the virus.

Cases of HMPV have doubled in the UK since early December with many Brits having been struck down in the country with symptoms similar to those of the common cold

Professor Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia notes that almost every child contracts HMPV by five years of age, with reinfections occurring throughout life. “HMPV typically causes cold-like symptoms that recover by themselves within 2 to 5 days. Severe cases are rare but can occur in vulnerable groups,” he says.

HMPV has many of the same symptoms of mild, common winter woes like cold and flu, but it can lead to much more severe complications, particularly in vulnerable groups like infants, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

Plenty of viruses are having their strongest season for years. But experts have urged calm about HMPV, which is not a new disease — even if you've never heard about it.

China has raised an alarm about another virus, five years after the Covid-19 pandemic, as it has now spread to other countries. Cases of the human metapneumovirus (HMPV) involving infants – first, a three-month-old girl and later,