Change on skin may be early symptom of HMPV virus

Change on skin may be early symptom of HMPV virus
-Credit:Getty Images


Experts have issued a warning about the HMPV virus and one symptom which appears on skin. Cases of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) are reportedly wreaking havoc across China.

On social media, images of Chinese hospitals overrun with masked patients have circulated. Symptoms of the virus include having a cough, fever, nasal congestion, sore throat and shortness of breath. The virus can spread through coughing, sneezing or person-to-person contact. It can also be spread by touching contaminated surfaces.

The virus leads to a mild upper respiratory tract infection for most people. It is usually almost indistinguishable from flu. NHS data shows flu cases have surged in England recently, with the country facing what the NHS describes as a 'tidal wave' of COVID-19, flu, RSV and norovirus. The latest data from the UK Health & Security Agency (UKHSA) shows HMPV cases are on the rise in the UK, but experts say there is currently no sign of ‘a serious global issue’.

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Experts say a rash on the skin may be a more notable early sign of infection. A 2004 report by Dutch researchers, who analysed more than a dozen surveys and study groups on HMPV, found a rash on the chest, abdomen, pelvis, and back. This is one of the main signs that differentiates it from the common cold.

Dr Hsu Li Yang, an infectious diseases specialist in Singapore, says: "If infected, a small but significant proportion of immunocompromised people can develop more severe disease where the lungs are affected, with wheezing, breathlessness and symptoms of croup. Many will require hospital care, with a smaller proportion at risk of dying from the infection."

However, the situation in China is not too dissimilar to that in the UK, according to Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group. Last week, Prof Pollard said: “The reports of respiratory infections in China in the past few days appear to be attributed to both influenza and this human metapneumovirus, which is rather similar to the situation in the UK this week.”