The Chinese foreign ministry maintains that they have close communication with the World Health Organization (WHO) on respiratory diseases, when asked about the rising cases of the human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun says their government takes the health of its people and that of foreign nationals in China seriously, but the HMPV is not a new virus and has been circulating in humans for more than 60 years.
Guo says in their latest report, China's Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said HMPV cases remained at high levels.
He says that is in line with cases in other parts of the northern hemisphere.
Guo says HMPV infections manifest itself as a self-limiting disease.
He says it is alarmist to exaggerate common viruses as unknown viruses, which goes against scientific common sense.
On Tuesday, the WHO, said it had been in contact with Chinese health officials and had not received any reports of unusual outbreak patterns.
Source: Reuters
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