New Delhi:

A six-month-old girl in Mumbai became the eight case of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in the country and the third in Maharashtra. The infant was admitted to the hospital on January 1 with severe cough, chest tightness and oxygen levels dropping to 84%. She was discharged after five days. Earlier, two cases were detected in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, involving a seven-year-old and 13-year-old. The other cases were from Karnataka (2), Gujarat (1), Tamil Nadu (2).

Many states, including Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Bihar, have urged people not to panic, while Mizoram has formed a committee to monitor the spread of HMPV. Isolation wards have been created in civil hospitals in three Gujarat cities – Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Rajkot. In a meeting held amid reports of a surge in HMPV cases in China, the Centre has advised states to step up surveillance for respiratory illnesses, including ILI and SARI, and spread awareness about the prevention of transmission of HMPV.

HMPV is a globally recognised respiratory virus. It is one of the many respiratory viruses that can cause infections in people of all ages, particularly during the winter and early spring months. The virus infection is usually a mild and self-limiting condition and most patients recover on their own. Former chief scientist at World Health Organization Soumya Swaminathan told NDTV that there is no correlation between HMPV and Covid, adding that the numbers being tracked are “meaningless”. She added that wearing a mask would be a good practice.