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.

The World Health Organization has released a statement on the reported outbreak of human metapneumovirus in China and elsewhere.

Professor Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia notes that almost every child contracts HMPV by five years of age, with reinfections occurring throughout life. “HMPV typically causes cold-like symptoms that recover by themselves within 2 to 5 days. Severe cases are rare but can occur in vulnerable groups,” he says.

As China continues to monitor an increase in cases of human metapneumovirus (HMPV), here's what you need to know about the illness.

The World Health Organization says it has been confirmed that acute respiratory infections caused by human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, are spreading in China. However, a WHO spokesperson suggested there is little cause for concern.

China has not declared a state of emergency. PolitiFact checked multiple Chinese and U.S. government websites and found no public health emergency announcements. One of the respiratory viruses social media posts are spotlighting is human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, which was discovered in 2001. It causes coldlike symptoms and most cases are mild.

As cases of the HMPV virus continue to increase in the U.S. and in China, here's what you need to know about the virus.

While cases are climbing in China, the situation is very different from what it was when Covid-19 emerged five years ago, medical experts say. HMPV is common and decades old.

First discovered in 2001, HMPV is a “common virus that circulates in winter and spring”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). China and other countries in Asia have seen an uptick in cases involving the respiratory virus in recent weeks,

The posts are mostly false. Chinese authorities have reported an increase in some respiratory infections, but the increases are in line with seasonal trends and no state of emergency has been declared.

China has responded after the World Health Organization ( WHO) again urged it to disclose data that could shed more light on the origins of COVID-19, which killed over 7 million people worldwide. Newsweek reached out to the WHO by email with a request for comment.