A nasty cold virus is on the rise in Southern California.
It's called human metapneumovirus (HMPV), and wastewater samples show it is on the rise, particularly in the Inland Empire, San Gabriel Valley, East L.A., and South L.A.
“It is certainly on the uprise, as RSV and influenza have fortunately been coming down in numbers, human metapneumovirus has been increasing,” Dr. Vik Anand, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Cedars Sinai, told KNX News’ Emily Valdez. “So it does seem like it's going to be here for a little bit of time.”
Dr. Anand said the virus is generally a common cold for most people, but it can be particularly dangerous to babies, the elderly, and the immunocompromised.
“The danger signs for any viral infection would be a sudden development of a very high fever, difficulty breathing,” he said. “If you look at your child and they seem to be struggling to breathe, breathing very rapidly, those would be indications that you might need to be seen by a doctor.”
He added that he expects to see the virus stick around, possibly increase, as we head into spring.
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