WHAT WAS CLAIMED
China has declared a state of emergency over the “new” virus hMPV.
OUR VERDICT
False. The virus is not new and China hasn’t declared a state of emergency.
AAP FACTCHECK – An outbreak of a common virus in northern China has triggered false claims on social media that it's a new pathogen that could trigger a pandemic.
Experts say human metapneumovirus (hMPV) was first described more than 20 years ago and is a common illness.
A sharp rise in cases of flu-like hMPV in northern China in late December 2024 has sparked concerns among social media users.
A Facebook post's caption claims the "Chinese Health Ministery [sic]" has declared a state of emergency in response to an outbreak of hMPV, which the caption describes as a "new virus".
Some posts claim the virus emerged from China, while other posts claim the new disease has broken out like COVID: "The world is on the brink of a similar journey to Covid19, after the symptoms of a new virus called hMPV were seen in China."
An X post describes the emergence of hMPV as a "new pandemic": "Bill Gates warned about the imminence of another global pandemic and here we go."
HMPV, however, is not a new virus that has recently emerged in China.