Dr. Ankita Baidya is a passout from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi and has been researching and studying infectious diseases for years. Dr. Ankita, who heads the infectious diseases department at Manipal Hospital, tells some important facts about HMPV.
During the winter season, the news of a new virus coming from China had troubled everyone. In the videos seen on social media, most of the parents were seen in hospitals with their children. It was believed that this was another virus like Covid which could cause an epidemic. The concern increased further when in India too, symptoms of this virus were seen in an 8-month-old girl. The name of this virus is HMPV i.e. human metapneumovirus. It affects the respiratory system. What is this virus, what could be its risks in children and how similar is it to Coronavirus, we did a special interview with Dr. Ankita Vaidya on all these questions.
Dr. Ankita is the chairperson and consultant of the infectious diseases department at Manipal Hospital. Let us know the main points of the conversation with him.
Q. 1 You have a long experience of research on infectious diseases. Can you tell us what exactly HMPV is?
A- It is an RNA virus. Which was first identified in 2001 and its first case was registered in the Netherlands. It affects the respiratory system. Its cases have been reported earlier in India also. It cannot be called a new virus, as is being propagated on social media.
Q. 2 What are its common symptoms?
A. In this too, symptoms like common cold are seen. Runny nose, headache, sore throat and discomfort, fever. The patient starts recovering from these within a week with his own immunity.
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Q. 3 This virus spread so rapidly in some countries, what are the common reasons for its spread?
A. In winter, such viruses become more active, which affect the respiratory system. The biggest reason for its spread is the cold weather, which supports its spread. Secondly, staying too close and not being alert. If someone has the virus, the virus can spread by coming in contact with that person. Not wearing a mask, not taking care of cleanliness also causes its spread.
Q. 4 Then what is the way to prevent this?
A. Respiratory precaution is an important way to prevent this. Wearing a mask, following social distancing, practicing hand hygiene, staying away from infected people and avoiding crowded places can prevent exposure and spread of this virus.
Q. 5 So far it is affecting children the most, what could be the reason for this?
A. Generally the immunity of children is weak. It is still developing, so 60 to 65 percent of HMPV cases are reported in children. They are at the highest risk of contracting any infection and developing serious symptoms.
Q. 6 What special things should be done to protect our children from getting infected by this virus?
A. Most attention needs to be given to immunity. If immunity is good then its effect and risk will be less. It is also important that the child’s vaccination is complete. If such symptoms are visible in any person or child, then other children should be kept away from it. It is also important to take care of cleanliness around them. No vaccine for HMPV has been made yet, but it is very important for children to get the vaccines prescribed for influenza etc.
Q. 7 What can be the serious risks of HMPV in children?
A. Its serious risks may include pneumonia or bronchiolitis. In which the patient may need to be given oxygen and admitted to the ICU.
Q. 8 Can pregnant women also be at risk of HMPV?
A. Immunity becomes weak during pregnancy. And this virus affects people with weak immunity. There have been such experiences in the past when this could cause problems during pregnancy. But till now no case of HMPV has been reported in any pregnant woman in India. If there is any strain variation, this can happen. Therefore there is a need to be careful.
Q. 9 It is being called a virus like Covid, is it actually the same as coronavirus?
A. Comparing it with Coronavirus, I would say it is different from that. Its incubation period is 3 to 6 days. But it does not affect the ability to smell and taste. In Covid, we saw that it had affected a lot of the adult population as well. Whereas the effect of HMPV has not yet been seen in adults.
Q. 10 And can it be compared with common cold?
A. It cannot be called any different from common cold. Many viruses like RSV, viral infection, rhinovirus, influenza, HMPV become active during winter season. Symptoms like cold, running nose and fever are also seen in these. This is a virus that is active in cold weather. Therefore it can be called a virus like common cold.
Q. 11 Some strains of coronavirus had caused havoc. Can HMPV prove dangerous by mutating like coronavirus?
A. When we look at the past history of HMPV, this virus has not mutated much in the last twenty years. Has been with a fairly stable genome. Whereas the coronavirus was mutating very quickly. But yes, because it is also a rhinovirus, it can also mutate. But the mutation rate is very low.
Q. 12 The children who showed symptoms of HMPV in India had no international travel history, should it be assumed that it has entered India?
A. It is true that the children in whom this virus has been seen in India had no international travel history, there was no record of any kind of international contact. So that we can say that this virus has come from abroad. As I said, this has been reported in India earlier also. This is not a new virus for all of us. It remains to be seen whether any such mutation has occurred in this virus, due to which it has suddenly become a topic of discussion.
Also read – The effect of this virus lasts only for three to four days, know why HMPV tests were not being done till now
