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hmpv virus in china: Is it safe to travel to China amid HMPV outbreak scare and viral videos? Check the latest details

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Five years after the Covid-19 pandemic scare, China is facing another similar situation and this time its Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV)– a respiratory illness with flu-like symptoms. As per reports, China is currently dealing with a fresh outbreak of viruses with the emergence of various respiratory infectious diseases in winter, sparking global concerns.

If social media videos are to be believed, the virus is posing major health challenges, with a sharp increase in respiratory illnesses, particularly HMPV. The number of infected people are reportedly rising and it clearly looks like a concerning situation.

There’s one question that is constantly on everyone’s mind- Is it safe to travel to China right now?
ALSO READ: HMPV virus in China FAQs: Symptoms, treatment, diagnosis and everything else you should know

HMPV cases rise in China

Photos and videos of people wearing masks in hospitals in China emerged on social media platforms and local reports said the outbreak of HMPV is similar to the Covid outbreak five years ago. Not only this, along with HMPV, there are claims of other viruses, including influenza A, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and even Covid-19, circulating simultaneously.


Online video posts are concerning. Some even suggest that the current viral outbreak is more complex than just one strain of illness. The spread of multiple respiratory infections, including HMPV, has raised alarms, as these viruses share similar symptoms, complicating diagnosis and treatment.ALSO READ: Quad-demic threat in US: Mask mandate returns as winter viruses surge. What should you do to prevent it?

What China has said amid HMPV outbreak?

China downplayed concerns over a reported outbreak of flu, saying it is safe for foreigners to travel to the country. Beijing to address such concerns. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday that “Respiratory infections tend to peak during the winter season”.

Despite circulating social media videos showing overcrowded hospitals, Chinese authorities maintained that the situation does not represent a significant health crisis. The Chinese foreign ministry said the outbreak is less severe than last year.

ALSO READ: Is China facing another pandemic? Five years after Covid, HMPV virus threat triggers panic. What you need to know?

“Respiratory infections tend to peak during the winter season in the northern hemisphere,” said Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, addressing questions about the spread of influenza A and other respiratory diseases.

She added, “The diseases appear to be less severe and spread on a smaller scale compared to the previous year. I can assure you the Chinese government cares about the health of Chinese citizens and foreigners in China. It is safe to travel in China.”

Mao also pointed to guidelines issued by the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration of China for managing respiratory diseases during the winter.

ALSO READ: Rabbit fever, a ‘rare’ disease, sees over 50% rise in US: What are its symptoms and precautionary measures?

What is HMPV and what are its symptoms?

Discovered in 2001, HMPV belongs to the Pneumoviridae family, the same family as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It typically causes upper and lower respiratory infections, presenting symptoms similar to a common cold or flu.

ALSO READ: China facing new Covid-like pandemic? Here’s everything we know about it so far

HMPV causes flu-like symptoms and can lead to severe respiratory issues, especially among children and vulnerable groups. It is a respiratory virus that causes upper and lower respiratory infections. However, there is no vaccine developed to prevent this.

The symptoms of HMPV are similar to those of flu, like cough, fever, nasal congestion and shortness of breath. However, in severe cases, the virus can lead to complications like bronchitis or pneumonia.

Depending on how severe a case is, the incubation period usually lasts 3-7 days and full recovery may take a few more. HMPV is a communicable disease, which means it can spread through the air as well as through touch. Coughing or sneezing can spread it. The virus stays active on the surface of objects at room temperature, so touching such an object can also lead to getting the infection.

How has India responded to the HMPV scare?

The Union Health Ministry said on Friday that it was closely monitoring the alleged outbreak of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China. The Ministry maintained that while China had reported a rise in respiratory illness, particularly HMPV, India hadn’t registered any unusual spike in winter respiratory diseases.

ALSO READ: Amid reports of HMPV outbreak in China, doctors warn of 11 diseases that could trigger pandemic 2.0 like Covid

Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services (DGHS) in India, said, “There is news doing the rounds about a Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) outbreak in China. However, we have analyzed the data of the respiratory outbreaks in the country [India], and there is no substantial increase in December 2024 data nor any large-scale cases reported from our institutions. There is nothing to be alarmed about the present situation.”

Goel added that Indian hospitals are prepared with adequate supplies and beds for the usual seasonal surge in respiratory infections. He advised the public to follow standard precautions, such as avoiding close contact if experiencing symptoms like a cough or cold, to prevent transmission.

Reports from China have suggested that Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) could be behind the spike in infections. However, Chinese authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO) have not declared any state of emergency.



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Find Sunflowers In Full Bloom At These Places In India This Month – Travel and Leisure Asia

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Find Sunflowers In Full Bloom At These Places In India This Month  Travel and Leisure Asia



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Wego India Innovates with Technology to Streamline Travel Search, Address Trends, and Drive Post-Pandemic Growth

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Friday, July 11, 2025

Wego India, a prominent metasearch engine in the travel industry, is revolutionizing the way Indian travelers plan and book their journeys by leveraging cutting-edge technology. According to Bernard Corraya, General Manager of Wego India, the company’s focus on technology and customer experience has been pivotal in enhancing travel search and expanding options for Indian users.

In an exclusive interview with TTW, Bernard Corraya, GM of Wego India, discussed the company’s innovative approach to revolutionizing the travel experience for Indian users. He highlighted Wego India’s integration of real-time APIs, offering seamless flight, hotel, and train bookings. The platform now features flexible fares, multi-carrier itineraries, and a growing focus on experiential accommodations. Corraya also emphasized Wego’s efforts to deliver personalized travel recommendations using machine learning. As India’s travel industry recovers post-pandemic, Wego is contributing to both domestic and outbound tourism by offering flexible, competitive options and a streamlined travel ecosystem.

Wego’s platform aggregates real-time data from airlines, hotels, rail operators, and OTAs through API integrations, ensuring users have access to the most up-to-date and comprehensive options available. This enables the search for flights, hotels, and trains to be smooth and seamless. A significant addition in early 2024 was the integration of a train-booking service, which directly pulls IRCTC availability, allowing users to search for train tickets alongside flights and hotels. The service is designed to allow users to filter by various preferences, such as class, departure time, and fare type, and even complete payments without leaving the platform. Underpinning this service is a robust infrastructure that ensures that search results are up-to-date, reducing booking friction and improving the user experience for Indian travelers.

Looking ahead to 2025, Wego India has observed key trends in travelers’ preferences. Indian users are increasingly opting for flexible fares, which offer refund and rescheduling options, as well as multi-carrier itineraries for better convenience. Additionally, premium-economy seating is gaining popularity for medium-haul flights as travelers seek more comfort. On the hotel front, there is a growing demand for experiential and long-stay accommodations, particularly in tier-II and tier-III cities. The preference for boutique properties and serviced apartments—combining home-style amenities with hotel services—reflects a shift in how Indian travelers want to experience their stays.

To ensure competitive pricing and a wide array of options, Wego India utilizes a dynamic pricing engine that aggregates fares from multiple sources, including direct airline APIs, global distribution systems, and third-party OTAs. This ensures that Wego India users have access to the most competitive prices, along with the flexibility to explore both standard and exclusive package deals.

The company has also embraced the demand for personalized travel recommendations. Wego employs machine-learning algorithms that analyze a user’s past searches, bookings, and travel preferences to present more tailored options. This creates a more personalized experience, allowing users to discover flights, hotels, and destinations that match their individual needs. Additionally, the homepage features “inspiration modules,” offering curated destination guides based on collective trend data.

As India’s travel industry recovers post-pandemic, Wego India is playing a crucial role in facilitating both outbound and domestic travel. With the rise in domestic tourism and outbound travel, Wego India has integrated self-drive rental services through a partnership with Zoomcar, further enhancing the convenience of travel. The company has also worked to make the booking process contactless, ensuring safety and flexibility for travelers. By aggregating multiple travel services—flights, hotels, trains, and self-drive rentals—into a seamless ecosystem, Wego India is paving the way for future growth in both leisure and business travel.

1. How is Wego India leveraging technology to enhance the travel search experience for Indian users?

Wego India operates a robust metasearch engine that aggregates live inventory from hundreds of airlines, hotels, rail operators and OTAs via real‐time API integrations. In early 2024, Wego introduced an integrated train-booking service—pulling IRCTC availability directly into its app and website—to complement flight and hotel search, allowing users to filter by class, departure time and fare type, then complete payment without leaving the Wego platform.

Under the hood, a combination of low-latency caching, incremental data polling, and predictive algorithms for ticket-confirmation probabilities ensures that search results remain both comprehensive and up-to-date, significantly reducing booking friction for Indian travelers.

2. What trends are you seeing in Indian travelers’ preferences for flights and hotels in 2025?

Users increasingly prioritize refundable or “flex” fares, multi-carrier itineraries and premium-economy seating for greater comfort on medium-haul routes. Meanwhile, hotel searches reflect a clear shift toward experiential and long-stay accommodations: demand for boutique properties in tier-II and tier-III cities is rising, and extended-stay travelers are booking serviced apartments that blend home-style amenities with hotel-class services.

3. How does Wego India ensure competitive pricing and comprehensive options in a highly dynamic market?

Wego’s dynamic pricing engine continuously polls multiple fare sources, direct airline APIs, global distribution systems and third-party OTAs, refreshing rates every few minutes to capture flash sales and limited-time bundles.

By presenting these aggregated deals side-by-side with standard fares and surfacing exclusive package rates, Wego India guarantees that every search surfaces the broadest choice at the most competitive price.

4. Can you share how Wego is addressing the growing demand for personalized travel recommendations in India?

To move beyond generic search results, Wego deploys machine-learning models that analyze each user’s past searches, bookings, trip durations and demographic signals. These algorithms rank flight and hotel options in order of likely affinity considering preferred cabin classes, budget bands and even seasonal travel habits, while “inspiration modules” on the homepage deliver hand-curated destination guides based on collective trend data. The result is a bespoke planning experience: rather than wading through hundreds of options, users are presented with personalized suggestions that align closely with their unique preferences and travel histories.

5. How is Wego India contributing to the recovery and growth of India’s outbound and domestic travel markets post-pandemic?

As India’s travel industry rebounds, with outbound trips climbing sharply throughout the year and domestic tourism leading the recovery, Wego has expanded its rail-booking service to capture intra-India travel demand and partnered with Zoomcar to integrate self-drive rentals directly into its platform.

By aggregating flights, hotels, trains and self-drive vehicles into one seamless ecosystem and by championing contactless booking pathways and flexible cancellation policies. Wego is empowering both leisure and business travellers to plan safe, autonomous journeys across India and beyond.

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Do not travel to Iran: US issues dire warning as detention, terrorism risks grow

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In its starkest advisory, the US State Department has urged American citizens not to travel to Iran “for any reason,” citing an escalating pattern of wrongful detentions, threats to civil aviation, terrorism, and misleading surrogacy services.

The updated Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory comes amid growing tensions and a string of high-profile detentions involving US nationals. “US citizens in Iran face serious dangers,” the department warned. “They have been kidnapped and wrongfully arrested. Some have been held for years on false charges, subjected to psychological torture, and even sentenced to death.”

American citizens — especially dual US-Iranian nationals, journalists, students, and business travelers — are being targeted without warning or evidence of any crime, the government said. The advisory emphasized that “having a US passport or connections to the United States can be reason enough for Iranian authorities to detain someone.”

There are currently no formal diplomatic or consular relations between Washington and Tehran. In the event of arrest or detention, the US cannot directly intervene; instead, the Swiss government acts as the “protecting power” for US interests. However, consular access is often denied, especially to dual nationals.

TERROR THREATS AND AVIATION RISK

The advisory also highlights the increasing danger from violent extremist groups. “ISIS and related groups have taken responsibility for bombings and other attacks in the country. The risk of terrorism and deadly harm to bystanders continues,” it noted.

Due to escalating threats in Iranian airspace, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned US flights to, from, or through Iran. The department urged Americans to consult the FAA’s NOTAM and SFAR alerts for updates on civil aviation risks.

Adding to the list of concerns is Iran’s unregulated surrogacy industry, which, according to the advisory, has grossly misrepresented security risks and US citizenship law.

“Iranian surrogacy providers have also been known to misrepresent US citizenship law,” the State Department warned. “If a child born overseas to a surrogate is not genetically or gestationally related to a US citizen parent or their spouse, the child will not automatically acquire US citizenship at birth and will not be able to obtain a US passport to leave Iran.”

The tone of the advisory is unusually grave, urging would-be travellers to prepare for the worst. Among the recommendations:

– Drafting a will

– Leaving DNA samples with a medical provider

– Establishing a proof-of-life protocol

– Sharing sensitive login and personal documents with family

– Ends

Published By:

Aashish Vashistha

Published On:

Jul 11, 2025



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