An eight-year-old boy in Gujarat ’s Himatnagar has tested positive for Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), increasing the country’s tally to nine confirmed cases. The boy, presently on ventilator support, is receiving necessary medical care, district health officials reported on Thursday. The boy initially tested positive at a private lab, but health authorities have sent his blood samples to a government laboratory for further confirmation.
This comes following Gujarat reported its first HMPV case in a two-month-old infant earlier this month.
Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said that the government is closely monitoring the situation. Isolation wards have been set up in major cities, including Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, and Rajkot, to manage potential outbreaks. “We are prepared to handle any emergencies, and additional testing facilities have been deployed across the state,” Patel said. HMPV gained attention after it spiked in China, with a large number of people testing positive for the virus.
While the Karnataka, Gujarat , and Maharashtra governments assured that there was no cause for alarm, the Delhi government directed all hospitals in the capital to remain prepared to manage a potential surge in respiratory illnesses. Two of the three cases in India were detected in Karnataka by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) through routine surveillance for multiple respiratory viral pathogens. With the spread of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), Union Health Minister JP Nadda, assured the citizens to not panic saying the virus was not new.
In a briefing on Monday, Nadda said, “The health experts have clarified that HMPV is not a new virus, it was first identified in 2001 and it has been circulating in the entire world for many years. HMPV spreads through the air, by way of respiration.” The human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild cold-like symptoms. Studies indicate that it has been circulating in human populations since the 1970s, although it was first identified by scientists in 2001.
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