The World Health Organization on Tuesday offered reassurances about HMBV, a respiratory infection spreading in China, saying the virus is not new or particularly dangerous.

A WHO spokeswoman said the organization was in contact with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. She said the WHO had been informed that several respiratory infections were circulating in China, as is typical in winter, including “influenza, RSV, COVID-19 and HMBV.”

In early December, Chinese media began reporting on the rise in cases of human papillomavirus (HMPV), raising global health concerns five years after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in China.

But Beijing and the World Health Organization have been trying to calm concerns in recent days.

Margaret Harris, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization in Geneva, said HMBV attracts a lot of attention because it is not a household name, but was discovered in 2001.

She explained that HMBV is a common virus that spreads in winter and spring.

“The levels of respiratory infections reported in China are within the normal range for the winter season,” Harris added. “Authorities report that hospital use is currently lower than it was at this time last year, and there have been no emergency announcements or responses.”