Heartbroken parents have taken to social media to warn others to keep kids at home and avoid crowds after infants were seen hooked up to IV drips at a major hospital in Beijing
Horror images have emerged of kids in hospital writhing around in pain following the outbreak of the HMPV virus in China.
Heartbroken parents have taken to social media to warn others to keep their kids at home and avoid crowds after infants were seen hooked up to IV drips in what appears to be waiting rooms at a major hospital in Beijing. Mums are seen comforting tiny crying tots in heartbreaking video.
Parents of the bed-ridden children took to social media warned the virus is “no joke” after one child had severe flu-like symptoms and a “high fever for days”. The virus is believed to be human metapneumovirus (HMPV) – a respiratory virus that affects the body with symptoms similar to that of the flu, the common cold and Covid.
One parent said: “We went to the supermarket and [my son] came back with HMPV, please don’t take your child to crowded places.” Another concerned mother said: “Over the holidays, we went to a shopping mall and she tested positive on HMPV.”
While another added: “This virus is no joke, my poor baby. He has had a high fever for days, but he’s getting better after the treatment. Be careful when you go out with your child.”
The disease is likely to see another explosion of growth in the country as preparations for the Chinese New Year gets underway ahead of the big day at the end of the month. The festivities will prove a perfect environment to spread with revellers travelling to be with friends and family on January 29, Daily Star reported.
In similar scenes to the Covid-19 pandemic , schools in Wuhan – the area many associate with the start of the coronavirus – were shut down in a bid to stem the spread of HMPV after 30 pupils fell ill.
While Chinese officials have reassured that the HMPV spread is nothing but a ‘seasonal’ affliction, there are concerns they are “downplaying” the severity of cases, as the illness has already started to make its mark in the UK.
In a bid to monitor and tackle this ‘new’ virus, China has already implemented emergency measures as cases have started to spike across northern Chinese provinces. And it looks children have become the target demographic for this nasty illness, with social media posts highlighting an overflow of tots in hospitals with the Covid-like symptoms.
HMPV can be mild with symptoms ranging from a fever, cough, sore throat and fatigue. It has an incubation period from three to six days, meaning you could have the infection without displaying symptoms during this time period.
However, HMPV can also pose as a huge threat to humans in more severe cases. The respiratory virus can lead to various complications, including pneumonia – a lung infection where the air sacs in the organ fill with fluid or puss, causing breathing problems.
Most severe cases of HMPV seem to be tied to children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems or pre-existing conditions.