Other posts claimed that HMPV and Covid-19 had “cross-mutated” into a more severe disease. But multiple virologists told AFP the viruses are from different families and impossible to merge.
Adding to the wave of disinformation were sensational, “clickbait” headlines in some mainstream media outlets that described HMPV as a “mystery illness” overpowering the Chinese healthcare system.
In reality, it is a known pathogen that has circulated for decades and generally causes only a mild infection of the upper respiratory tract.
“It’s an example of monetising panic in an already bewildered public right on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Chicago, told AFP.
“The truth is that the HMPV is not a mystery illness.”
‘Fearmongering’
Such posts have led to a surge in anti-China commentary across Southeast Asia, with one Facebook user going as far as saying that Chinese people “shouldn’t be allowed to enter the Philippines anymore”.
One TikTok video shared an Indian TV news report on the virus but with an overlaid message: “China has done it again”.
“Because of the psychological trauma inflicted by Covid-19 — and by draconian lockdown policies — citizens around the world react anxiously to the possibility of another pandemic emerging from China,” Isaac Stone Fish, chief executive of the China-focused business intelligence firm Strategy Risks, told AFP.
“The right response is to distrust what Beijing says about public health, but not assume that means the (Chinese Communist) Party is covering up another pandemic, and certainly not to insult Chinese people,” he added.
Much of the disinformation about HMPV in early January came from social media accounts with an Indian focus, before spreading to others with audiences in Africa, Indonesia and Japan, Mai said.
In an apparent bid to ramp up the anti-China sentiment, many of them peddled HMPV falsehoods alongside videos of people eating food that may seem strange or exotic to outsiders.
Others used spooky music and old images to sensationalise routine cautions issued by Chinese health authorities.
Many such posts on X reached millions of viewers without a Community Note, a crowd-sourced tool to debunk false information.
“My concern is that all of the fear-mongering about HMPV now will make it harder for public health officials to raise the alarm about future pandemics,” Mai said.
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© 2025 AFP
