The number of cases of corona-like HMPV virus has increased to 8. On Tuesday, 2 cases were reported in Nagpur, Maharashtra. A 13-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy have been found infected here. Both the children had persistent cold and fever. After this, the report of both came positive in the test done by a private lab. However, they did not have to be admitted to the hospital. After treatment, their condition is under control.
A day before this, a total of 6 cases of the virus were reported including 2 each in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and 1 each in West Bengal and Gujarat. All the victims are children. After cases of infection were found in four states of the country, Health Minister JP Nadda had said that this virus is normal and there is no need to be afraid of it.
Health Minister regarding HMPV
Experts have said that HMPV is not a new virus. It was first identified in 2001. After this it spread in the world. It spreads through breathing, spreads through air. It affects people of all age groups. WHO is monitoring the situation and the report will be shared with us soon.
The virus is spreading
In Ahmedabad, a 2-month-old child was admitted to the hospital 15 days ago after his health deteriorated. The child had cold and high fever. Initially, he was also kept on ventilator for 5 days. After this, tests revealed that he was infected with the virus.
Regarding both the cases in Karnataka, the Union Health Ministry said that the children had gone to the hospital for routine checkup. After testing, their report came out positive. However, the Health Department of Karnataka clarified that the children’s samples were tested in a private hospital and they did not get the tests done in a government lab.
Symptoms of HMPV virus
When infected with the HMPV virus, patients show symptoms similar to cold and COVID-19. Its greatest impact is being seen on small children. Among these, children under 2 years of age are the most affected.
Dr. Shashank Heda, founder and chief executive of CovidRxExchange in Dallas, US state of Texas, told Bhaskar that the media is exaggerating the concern about this virus. However, statistics show that the reason for the sudden increase in people in hospitals is not just HMPV, but many other viral infections.
Viruses like HMPV usually spread temporarily during this season. After some time, the number of cases naturally declines. Therefore, more people being admitted to hospitals should not be taken to mean that health services have failed. It is important to monitor the current situation and provide necessary medical attention to infected people. However, this virus is less likely to cause a pandemic like the Delta variant of Corona.
What the government said about the virus
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, the virus has been confirmed in two children. Seeing this, I immediately spoke to Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao. The government will make every possible effort to eradicate this virus.
Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said, this is not a virus. HMPV is a flu virus. There is no need to panic. We are having a meeting with our panel. We will discuss this with the Government of India and ICMR. Amid reports of a HMPV case in West Bengal, CM Mamata Banerjee said no case has been found in the state so far.
It was said that there was an emergency like situation in China due to the increasing cases of HMPV. However, the Government of India held a meeting of the Joint Monitoring Group on January 4. After this, the government had said that the situation in China is not unusual considering the flu season and the government is ready to deal with them.
The country is fully prepared to deal with any surge in respiratory disease cases. The rising number of flu cases in China is due to RSV and HMPV. These are the common influenza viruses this season. The government is keeping a close watch on the situation and has asked WHO to provide periodic updates on the situation in China.
The government said India has a robust surveillance system for influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) for influenza through ICMR and IDSP. Data from both agencies show no unusual increase in ILI and SARI cases.
However, it was also said that as a precaution, ICMR will increase the number of labs testing for HMPV. Also, it will keep an eye on HMPV cases throughout the year.
