A child has been detected with Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) infection at a private hospital in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, news agency PTI reported on Monday, citing a civic official. The condition of the child is stable, the official said.
The total official tally of HMPV cases in India has now gone up to three, with two other confirmed cases being reported in Karnataka earlier today.
The HMPV hit headlines last week with unconfirmed reports claiming a surge in infections in China.
The infected infant hails from Dungarpur in Rajasthan and was admitted to the private hospital in Chandkheda locality of Ahmedabad on December 24 with symptoms of respiratory infection, the PTI report mentioned.
After tests, the infant was found positive for the HMPV, the news agency quoted Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's in-charge medical officer of health Bhavin Solanki as saying.
"HMPV (infection) was detected in the patient on December 26, but we learnt about it today as the private hospital reported it to us late," Solanki said.
The patient was kept in isolation, the official said. Earlier, the child was kept on a ventilator, and his condition is stable now, Solanki added.
The Indian Council of Medical Research detected two cases of HMPV in Karnataka through routine surveillance for multiple respiratory viral pathogens, the Union health ministry said on Monday.
One of the cases in Karnataka is a three-month-old female infant with a history of bronchopneumonia who was diagnosed with HMPV after being admitted to Baptist Hospital in Bengaluru. The infant has already been discharged, the ministry said.
The other case in Karnataka is an eight-month-old male infant with a history of bronchopneumonia who tested positive for HMPV on January 3 after being admitted to Baptist Hospital. The baby is now recovering, ICMR said on Monday.
It is important to note that neither of the patients have any history of international travel, the ministry underlined.
The health body emphasised that HMPV is already in circulation globally, including in India, and cases of respiratory illnesses associated with it have been reported in various countries.
Furthermore, based on the current data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network, there has been no unusual surge in Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) or Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases in the country, it added.
The ministry said it is monitoring the situation through all available surveillance channels. The ICMR will continue to track trends in HMPV circulation throughout the year.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is already providing timely updates regarding the situation in China to further inform the ongoing measures.
The recent preparedness drill conducted across the country has shown that India is well-equipped to handle any potential increase in respiratory illnesses and public health interventions can be deployed promptly if needed, the ministry stated.
Amid reports of rising cases of respiratory illnesses in China in the past few weeks, a meeting of the Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) was held under the chairmanship of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Saturday.
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