A viral infection called human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is on the rise among children in China, according to Chinese state media.
The virus can cause upper respiratory tract infections — like colds — as well as serious lung infections and, according to state media, it’s now one of the top four most common viral infections among hospital visitors in China.
“HMPV has been recognized as a significant problem in the at-risk population across the world since the turn of the century when it was first discovered,” Andrew Easton, a virology professor at the University of Warwick in the U.K. who studies pneumoviruses, told Live Science in an email. “That risk has not changed significantly over the last almost 25 years.”
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