LONDON (Reuters) -Rising cases of common respiratory illnesses in China and elsewhere around the Northern Hemisphere are within the range expected for winter, with no unusual outbreaks reported, the World Health Organization said.

China’s winter illness season is less severe compared to the year before, according to data from its health authority. But the proliferation of a long-standing though little-known pathogen called human metapneumovirus (hMPV) has been raising alarm both at home and in other countries.

In a world still reeling from the echoes of the COVID-19 pandemic, health officials in the United States have raised concerns about a growing outbreak of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) potentially mirroring past crises.