China denies the emergence of new dangerous infectious diseases.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that no new infectious diseases have been identified in the country, and all recorded pathogens are already well-known. This was reported by China's central television CCTV.

During a press conference, representatives of the center noted that there is currently seasonal activity of respiratory infections, with influenza being the primary one. The intensity of the flu epidemic is mostly at a moderate level, and the trend of increasing illness has slowed down due to the start of school holidays in many provinces. Medical experts predict that the activity of the virus may decrease until mid to late January.

Regarding the metapneumovirus, experts assured that this is not a new virus—it has been known for several decades. The rise in reported cases is linked to improvements in diagnostic methods. At the same time, there is a decrease in the incidence of this virus in northern provinces and among children under 14 years old.

Doctors expect possible surges of respiratory infections during the winter and spring; however, the overall intensity of epidemics will not exceed last year's levels.

As previously reported, there is an outbreak of a respiratory virus in China that resembles COVID-19.

The disease has also been documented in other countries, particularly in Kazakhstan and India. Subsequently, officially confirmed cases of metapneumovirus were found in Ukraine, specifically in Kyiv.

Leading British virologists have urged the Chinese government to provide more data on the human metapneumovirus (HPMV) amid outbreaks in the United Kingdom.

Health Minister Viktor Lyashko noted that the metapneumovirus belongs to the group of acute respiratory viral infections that circulate annually. As explained by infectious disease specialist Olga Golubovskaya, human metapneumovirus (HMPV) can cause illnesses of the upper and lower respiratory tracts in people of all ages, particularly among young children, the elderly, and individuals with weakened immune systems. Discovered in 2001, HMPV belongs to the Pneumoviridae family, along with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).