By Katherine Tinsley
8:18am PST, Jan 10, 2025
Currently, hospitals in Wisconsin, Illinois, California, Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Massachusetts and New York have begun requiring — or strongly urging — visitors to wear their masks to curb the rate of infection.
According to Daily Mail, infections caused by HPMV are three times the national average in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa.
HMPV is a virus with symptoms similar to a common cold, but it can lead to a lower respiratory infection similar to pneumonia.
Dr. Carla Garcia Carreno, a Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist at PID Associates and the Medical Director for Infection Prevention and Control at Children's Medical Center Plano, addressed the public's worry about HPMV.
"The concern for a pandemic can be put at rest," Carreno told CBS News. "This has been circulating for a while, so people have some immunity against this human metapneumovirus."
Cases of HMPV have been on the rise in the U.S., as the CDC found 1.94 percent — or 13,800 people — tested positive for it the week of December 28, 2024.
According to the BBC, HMPV, which was first noticed in 2001 in the Netherlands, spreads through direct contact with an infected person, in addition to touching contaminated surfaces.
The most common symptoms associated with HMPV include: cold, cough, fever, nasal congestion and shortness of breath.
If an individual thinks they've contracted HMPV, their local healthcare provider will be able to test them for it. However, there currently is no treatment for HMPV.
There is no FDA-approved shot for HMPV either, but there could be another way to prevent it.
"There is no vaccine available for this virus but if you have taken a flu shot, the three vaccine doses of COVID virus, you already have immunity," surgical oncologist Vishal Rao told the Economic Times.
With winter infection rates rising, medical professionals recommend sanitizing high-touch areas such as doorknobs, light switches and table tops.
