David Wei had to carry his nephew on his back for 3 km (1.9 miles) after the younger man suffered a heart attack, staggering down a road being repaired in rural China, while an ambulance took 90 minutes to drive out from the city and save him.

Assurance from National Health Commission comes amid fears of surging respiratory illness, with disease expert citing slowing trend.

Health officials in China have given an update on the rate of infections with the flu -like human metapneumovirus (HMPV). The virus in northern China is declining, a health official said on Sunday, amid some international concern over a potential pandemic.

The rate of infections with the flu-like human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in northern China is declining, a health official said, amid some international concern over a potential pandemic.

There has been a decline in cases of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in northern provinces and in children under 14, China has said. The spread of the respiratory virus has been causing concern, after images circulated of hospitals overrun with masked patients.

China's health literacy reached 31.87 percent in 2024, a rise of 2.17 percentage points from the previous year, the National Health Commission said on Friday. The rate means that about three in 10 people in China have acquired basic knowledge and skills on health.

The gap between urban and rural areas has further shrunk, as the health literacy rate in cities stood at 34.74 percent, compared to 29.11 percent in rural regions. While the rates in the less developed western and central provinces were still lower than the level seen in the eastern part of the nation, the discrepancy has also narrowed, data shows.

The rate of infections with the flu-like human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in northern China is declining, a health official has said, amid some international concern over a potential pandemic

during a press briefing by China’s National Health Commission. Wang added that the increase in recent years in the number of cases of the virus, first detected in the Netherlands in 2001 ...

Wang Liping, left, researcher for the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention speaks during a press briefing by the National Health Commission ... in northern China after images ...

China spent 7.2% of its economic output on health care in 2023, the National Health Commission says. That compares with an expenditure of 11.5% and 9.7% of GDP in heavily industrialized and aging Japan and South Korea respectively, OECD data shows.

How many cases of HMPV has India reported? The answer is: more than 15. Meanwhile, China said, “...the increase of reports about it [HMPV virus] in recent years can be attributed to advancements in detection methods.