HMPV (Human Metapneumovirus) is currently spiking in the United States, including Northern California cities like Sacramento, Davis, Vallejo and San Francisco.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Human Metapneumovirus Circulating in the US: Human metapneumovirus—a seasonal respiratory virus in the same family as Respiratory syncytial virus—is currently rising in the US, according to surveillance data from National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System.
- Symptoms Resemble Other Respiratory Viruses: HMPV typically causes cold-like symptoms such as cough, congestion, sore throat, and fever, but in some cases—especially in infants, older adults, or immunocompromised individuals—it can progress to bronchiolitis or pneumonia.
- Prevention and Treatment Are Supportive: Because there are no specific antivirals for HMPV, prevention relies on respiratory hygiene and infection control measures, while treatment focuses on supportive care such as rest, fluids, and fever-reducing medications like Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen.
If you came down with a respiratory infection this spring that wasn’t the flu or COVID-19, it may have been a virus you’ve never heard of: Human metapneumovirus (HMPV).
The virus was first discovered in 2001 but is less well known than its viral relative, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). Both are in the Pneumoviridae family.
HMPV is seasonal — like the annual flu — and it is currently spiking in the US, according to the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS), which monitors viral activity…