What do we know about the hMPV virus? It has been here for over 20 years. There is no threat of a “Covid scenario”, the risk of a pandemic is almost zero – Home – News

Immunologist Peter Sabaka and virologists of the Biomedical Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (BMC SAV) emphasize that this is a common respiratory disease and there is no need to worry about any “covid scenario”.

What is this virus and how to treat it?

Human metapneumovirus first appeared in the world in the Netherlands in 2001, having been circulating in the human population much earlier. “Practically the entire population encountered this virus in early childhood, while antibodies against the virus are formed. Even if reinfections occur later, the course of the disease is very mild in the majority of the population,” explain virologists from BMC SAV. Today, it occurs in practically every country in the world during the flu season, i.e. in autumn and winter, together with flu viruses and others.

hMPV belongs to the same viral family as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and causes similar short-term infections. “This virus has been caught repeatedly in practically all countries of the world. It cannot be said that it is a virus that just now originated in China and is circulating in Hungary. It’s a virus that arose within the global population every year,” immunologist Peter Sabaka explained in ta3.

It causes upper and lower respiratory tract infection. “Like other viruses that cause respiratory diseases, hMPV is spread by droplets when an infected person coughs and sneezes. Transmission is also possible from surfaces and objects on which the virus is present,” says Tatiana Červeňová, chief hygienist of the Slovak Republic. In most cases, the course of the infection is mild and the symptoms are similar to the flu or a cold – it is an increased temperature, weakness, muscle and joint pain, a stuffy nose, sinus pain, scratchy throat, cough, sneezing, etc. may also be added.

A mild course of infection is treated with classic home recipes – stay at home, let the virus rest, exert yourself as little as possible physically and mentally, and suppress fever or cough with medicines intended for this. In this case, children, people with chronic diseases of the respiratory system, seniors with associated diseases or people with severe immune disorders are also at risk. In these groups, the disease can develop into inflammation of the bronchi or lungs.

“Thank God, it’s rare and usually far less serious than covid,” says Sabaka. Therefore, if, in addition to the usual symptoms, more serious problems, especially with breathing, occur during the illness, it is necessary to consult a doctor. “It’s the feeling that I can’t breathe, I’m suffocating quickly or I feel like I’m running out of oxygen, these are alarming symptoms. In such a case, if the lung involvement is more severe, hospital treatment is required. But there are not many such cases,” said the immunologist.

We also have one case in Slovakia

Chief hygienist Červeňová said that laboratory tests have so far confirmed one case in Slovakia. “In the laboratories of the public health authorities, in the flu season 2024/2025, until the 1st calendar week of 2025, we laboratory confirmed one sample positive for hMPV, namely in the 40th calendar week of 2024. In the previous flu season 2023/2024, we confirmed three cases,” she said. The overall incidence of the virus may be higher in the population, also considering that not all infected persons are tested.

“Based on currently available information and the current development of the epidemiological situation, there is no assumption of the risk of a new pandemic. An increase in respiratory infections is expected at this time of year and during flu season,” adds the chief hygienist. The hMPV virus has currently spread in China, is on the rise in Great Britain and is also being recorded in Hungary, where preventive measures are being introduced in hospitals. “The situation in China is more complicated. Yes, there is a large increase in respiratory system infections detected, but it cannot be attributed to this human metapneumovirus alone. It is the same in Hungary,” said Sabaka.

China has reported an increase in the number of hMPV cases, especially in the northern provinces, especially in children. It may be similar in the case of an increase in cases here as well. “There are many epidemics – there is a flu epidemic, an RSV virus epidemic, a whooping cough epidemic, an hMPV epidemic, a covid epidemic, which is also happening simultaneously and threatens the most vulnerable groups of patients. “Many epidemics peak at the same time and it manifests itself in the fact that there are really many patients with respiratory infections, but fortunately most of them are not serious,” says the immunologist.

Slovak hospitals have not yet taken more significant measures. An exception is the Faculty Hospital in Trnava. “Due to the worsening epidemiological situation of acute respiratory infections, it is necessary to use a mask when visiting patients and disinfect hands before entering the department from 9/1/2025. This measure is valid until further notice,” the hospital wrote on the social network.

However, the immunologist reminds that similar measures were introduced at the end of last year due to the increase in the number of patients with flu and covid. “Visits were limited and masks were worn. It is possible that measures will be taken especially when they fall ill with a respiratory disease, but were admitted to the hospital with a different diagnosis,” he says.

However, extensive wearing of masks or other measures like during the coronavirus pandemic are not likely. “Anyone who wants to protect themselves or who is infected and cannot stay at home can wear a respirator and a face mask, in which case the face mask is recommended,” reminds Sabaka. Vaccination against this virus does not yet exist, but scientists are working on a vaccine and it could be available within a few years.

The threat of a pandemic is almost zero

The biggest concern stems from whether we may experience another pandemic. However, this is highly unlikely with this virus. “Virologists assure the public that the probability of a pandemic caused by human hMPV is very low, almost zero,” they assure the public. Unlike the coronavirus, hMPV is not a new human virus. “The SARS-CoV-2 virus was not primarily a human virus. It entered the human population in 2019, most likely from a bat, spread quickly and caused very serious diseases,” explains Sabaka.

People did not have immunity against covid, because until then it was not in the population and was not adapted to spread between people. “That’s why there was a very high death rate, because the mechanisms that ensure the survival and spread of the virus were not adapted to humans, but to animals. Its ability to kill and suppress our immune system was too strong and exaggerated,” he said. In contrast, the hMPV virus has been around for a long time and is adapted to spread between people. “It’s not beneficial for viruses to kill people, but to infect them and pass them on, and that’s what the virus is good at. This is the most fundamental difference,” he said.

The biggest risk of a new pandemic is when the virus gets from the animal population to the human population. “That’s when viruses are really very deadly – that’s the case with Ebola, Marburg virus, covid, SARS or MERS. These are diseases that entered the human population from animals and are very deadly, because they have not yet learned to co-exist evolutionarily with the human population, and that’s when the mortality rate is greatest,” explained the immunologist. As for covid, it currently mainly affects people with weaker immunity, seniors and people with associated diseases. “The vast majority of people will overcome covid-19 as a flu-like illness without serious complications,” the immunologist explained.

hMPV is a virus that mutates over time and new strains emerge, but unlike influenza, it is not considered a virus with pandemic potential. “Because the changes in its genome are gradual and come from previously circulating strains,” say the virologists. Sabaka adds that it cannot happen that the hMPV virus mutates with, for example, the flu virus or covid. “Viruses are so different that they cannot combine, assemble or mutate to create another new dangerous disease. This is not a threat to us,” he added.