China - HMPV Virus

[RisingSunn]

Am I right in assuming that because they know what the virus is. It shouldn’t be as worrying as COVID was at the beginning?

www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/china-rejects-claim-of-flulike-virus-spreading/news-story/8c980054af93d2e865d49e39c61fb3bd?amp

Sometimes it’s hard to decipher real potential health dangers and sensationalist headlines.

All you can and should do for any potential virus is look after your own health with a good diet and ample rest.
People die of common garden influenza.

And I say that as someone with long covid who's regularly incapacitated by new covid exposures because my body has an autoimmune reaction.

Nah we’re not falling for it again. That ship has well and truly sailed.

Oh god here we go again. Well,I for one am NOT falling for the shit we were spun last time. And I don't think I'll be the only one.

I just don’t see the point in the media working everyone up. If it hasn’t even been confirmed it’s a real problem yet.

Have you seen the reports coming out of the NHS in the U.K. every winter hospitals full of flu like viruses? It's every year but some flu seasons are worse than others, it's quite bad locally to me currently with 2/3 hospitals full because nursing homes won't take their residents back with such viruses (they are often in hospital for other reasons)

Hospitals already bursting at the seams with flu patients and staff off sick with flu.

Fuck that, I'm not changing my life again for another China flu.

There are high levels of flu here this year if you look at the data.

My friends husband (paramedic) is doing at most 2 or 3 calls per 12 hour shift because he spends most of his time in a queue of ambulances waiting to offload their charges, whilst beds are full, wards overflowing and A&E standing room only - mostly on a ccount of a "flu-like virus". I am seriously not interested in social media's opinions on queues at hospitals in China.

FWW, people seem to be astonished when flu happens in the UK. Even pre-Covid the hospitals filled for months with flu type illnesses. I recall in the winter of 2017/18 I was scheduled for a priority ankle operation, which was cancelled at the end of November and not re-scheduled until APRIL because of the flu numbers! That's five months when even relatively urgent cases were cancelled due to flu.

I see it a bit like fire alarms. When at hotels we have had to evacuate many times due to fire alarm going off.
We are pretty sure it's a false alarm but we go out anyway because we done know for sure.
Going out is annoying and inconvenient and in most cases unnecessary but not going out is putting yourself and others at unnecessary risk because sometimes it is a real fire and waiting for smoke can be too late.

I would much rather have knowledge of possible risk that comes to nothing than not know until it is too late to take any precautions.

That’s a good way of putting it.

I just think they shouldn’t start reporting cases in neighbouring countries if (a hopeful if) it’s just the equivalent of a bad cold and not likely to be anything serious.

Hospital bed numbers have declined every year since the 1980's, down nearly 50% since 1988, yet our population has increased by 15% (ish).

I wonder how people will react if it gets to be another lockdown. I ended up feeling quite lonely when it happened.

Statistically every 8 years or so there's a disproportionately high number of flu cases, Chinas hospitals also seem more overwhelmed because they don't have a primary care system, everyone will head to hospital. The NHS struggles to cope every winter, this is sadly nothing new either. Not the same as covid which was a novel virus of which we didn't know much about.

The story is gaining traction now. Not sure what to make of it. People who have had colds or similar viruses in the last couple of moths have been floored by it.

The thing is China and even India are suggesting nothing to worry about - so I do t think we need to worry about lockdowns etc.

However - if they are right - why the constant monitoring or should I say reports of monitoring.

I didn’t know there wasn’t a primary care system in China - so increased hospital crowds makes sense. Thanks.

It’s just the international monitoring doesn’t sit well.

I don’t know if we’d ever lock down again (can’t afford it for a start) there’s always lots of viruses going around. I mean our hospital beds are full of people with complications from respiratory infections.

I'm sure I read earlier the WHO said it wasn't the type of illness that can become a pandemic. I'll see if I can find it

It wasn't the WHO

'Promisingly, Dr Catchpole noted that while hMPV 'does mutate and change over time with new strains emerging', it is 'not a virus considered to have pandemic potential'.

No idea who he is though tbf!

No, it's not remotely like covid. It's a virus that has been circulating forever. Covid was an entirely new virus - that's why it was so significant.

HMPV was here before covid. I’ve worked with patients that tested positive for its It’s not an unknown illness and can come up on virology when medics request it. Covid was new and unknown. Completely different situation, talking about lockdowns and ‘im not locking down’ is ridiculous.

It’s media hype honestly.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c23vjg7v7k0o

Hospitals are busy with flu and other normal winter respiratory illnesses.

It won't happen. No one would adhere to it, or should I say the majority of people won't, probably the elderly and people with health issues already. The rest of us will just crack on with it.

There's ALWAYS constant monitoring. Teams of people all over the world collect samples from humans, other animals and birds, day in, day out. We should all be grateful to them.

The Chinese response said they're stepping up observations of respiratory viruses because they expect more of them. That's entirely reasonable.

Wrt HMPV, the link you posted calls it a respiratory virus that typically causes a mild infection similar to a common cold. No need to panic about this one!

I wouldn’t be so sure. If not this, then something else will come along and the majority will go nuts again, telling people to “stay to the fuck at home”, spying on neighbours movements. The hysteria on here 5 years ago was mind boggling and made me realsie just how bonkers fear makes the majority of people.