Flu surge in China declines below 2024 levels, health official says

The rise in flu cases across China is slowing, according to a health official citing disease control statistics.

The rate of positive flu virus tests in hospitals nationwide increased by 3.8 percent, lower than the rate of increase during the same period in 2024, said Hu Qiangqiang, spokesperson for China's National Health Commission (NHC), at a press conference in Beijing on Sunday.

"Current flu activity will gradually decrease later this month, although the situation may vary in different parts of the country," Hu added.

The NHC, which is coordinating the response to the flu season, has reported no shortage of medical resources, confirming that the supply and production of key medicines remain stable, Hu told reporters.

Some media outlets and social media accounts reported a surge of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China in December 2024, incorrectly calling HMPV a "new virus." HMPV has existed for decades and was discovered by researchers in the 2000s. Experts, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the World Health Organization have debunked these inaccurate reports.

Parents are still urged to take precautions to protect their children from various respiratory diseases, particularly in northern China, where winter respiratory illnesses are common.

"From our observations at Beijing Children's Hospital, there is no abnormal increase in patients [numbers]," said Xu Baoping, a senior doctor at the hospital, when asked by CGTN about the flu season's impact on children. The number of patients in the recent two months has been lower than last year's, according to Xu.

Xu also warned that children recovering from one flu strain may still contract another. "Although the flu symptoms are gone, the child's immune system takes longer to recover," Xu explained.

According to an expert with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), there are no new infectious diseases in China, and all current respiratory infectious diseases in the country are caused by known pathogens.

Influenza is currently the primary cause of visits to healthcare institutions for patients with acute respiratory infections, said Wang Liping, a China CDC research fellow, at an NHC press conference on Sunday.

Data has shown that influenza intensity remains moderate in most provinces, and middle and primary schools entering winter holidays, a decline in influenza activity is expected in mid to late January, Wang said.

Despite an increase of visits to fever clinics and emergency departments nationwide, the numbers are below those of the same period last year, and there has been no notable shortage of medical resources, said NHC official Gao Xinqiang.

Since October 2024, the commission has worked with China CDC and other authorities to lay out plans and conduct regular monitoring, mobilizing resources and personnel nationwide to ensure medical services remain steady and orderly, Gao said.