Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with (a) his international counterparts and (b) the World Health Organisation on human metapneumovirus.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has had no recent communications from the World Health Organisation or other countries in relation to human metapneumovirus (hMPV).

UKHSA’s long-term surveillance of hMPV in England, through systems covering general practice surgeries and hospital laboratories, indicates that hMPV levels in winter 2024-25 are in line with what we would expect to see at this time of year.

Healthcare data for hMPV and other respiratory viruses is routinely published on the UKHSA dashboard, which is available at the following link:

https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/respiratory-viruses/other-respiratory-viruses