Viral Diseases: Disease Control
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to stop the spread of the HMPV virus from China.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is one of many viruses within the United Kingdom that cause illness each winter. It has been in circulation for many decades. Most people have been infected by the age of five and reinfection occurs throughout life.
The UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) monitors activity and publishes data every week through the winter period. UKHSA’s long-term surveillance of hMPV in England, through systems covering general practice surgeries and hospital laboratories, indicates that hMPV levels in winter 2024-25 are in line with what we would expect to see at this time of year.
UKHSA has issued general public advice on prevention of transmission of respiratory viruses, this includes the importance of good hand hygiene, catching coughs with tissues, and avoiding vulnerable people while symptomatic. These measures would be expected to reduce transmission of hMPV.
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