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When fear spreads faster than the disease

Social media amplifies panic with every new outbreak, but the real challenge lies in fostering science literacy and measured vigilance.

The spike of respiratory illnesses throughout China has transiently ratcheted up anxiety worldwide regarding a possible hMPV pandemic.

ST ILLUSTRATION: MIEL

Hsu Li Yang

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In November 2023, China’s capital Beijing and Liaoning province saw

a surge in hospitalisations

after people were infected with the bacterial pathogen Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Many of those affected were children. The incident sparked a widespread sense of unease and uncertainty.

Similarly, alarm bells were raised when

avian influenza (H5N1) spread among cattle herds

throughout the United States in 2024, with occasional human infections as well as

a human death

earlier in January.

When fear spreads faster than the disease

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