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.

The pictures emerging are arresting: a hospital waiting room in Beijing, full of masked patients apparently attached to drips; crowds of mask-wearing commuters making their way through the city. If it all seems unnervingly familiar,

The virus, first identified in 2001, is one of a handful of respiratory illnesses spreading this winter. This is what we know about the current outbreak. View on euronews