BEIJING (Reuters) – The Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday that it had maintained close communication with the World Health Organization on respiratory diseases, when asked about cases of the human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China.
The Chinese 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 Jiakun, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said at a regular news conference.
In its latest report, China’s Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said HMPV cases remained at high levels.
(Reporting by Joe Cash; writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
