The first case of infection with Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) virus, which has become a matter of concern in China, was reported in India on Monday (January 6, 2024). An 8 month old child from Bengaluru has been affected by this virus. He is its ‘zero patient’ in India.
another child infected with this virus afflicted It has come to light. He is three months old. But there is no need to be worried about this virus right now, a senior surgeon has said. He has said that this virus is not new to India.
This first case in India comes after a recent surge in HMPV cases in China. Concerns have also increased because Covid-19 originated from China. An 8-month-old child was among the children found infected with this virus in Bengaluru. Treatment It is going on.
The 3-month-old child who was found suffering from it has recovered and has been discharged from the hospital. These cases have been confirmed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the organization responsible for medical research in India.
After increasing concerns over this virus, well-known surgeon Amit Thadhani has appealed to the people not to panic. He has told what was the previous history of this virus in India and what information has been obtained on it in the previous research.
The “latest virus from China” HMPV has already been in India since decades and is a well known pathogen causing respiratory illness especially in children. This study done at AIIMS almost two decades ago showed its prevalence at about 3% to 33% of childhood respiratory illnesses. pic.twitter.com/H4nLOdcgXI
— Amit Thadhani (@amitsurg) January 4, 2025
He wrote on This research conducted at AIIMS about two decades ago revealed that its presence in childhood respiratory diseases is about 3% to 33%.”
A person asked Surgeon Thadhani that even though this virus had been introduced before, could its strain (nature) be new. On this, Dr. Amit Thadhani clarified that even if the strain is new or different from the previous one, it will not be able to have much effect due to cross-immunity.
IMHO it doesn’t matter much, mostly there will be cross immunity. SARS virus was seen in animals and birds but not in humans, whereas this virus has already been found commonly in humans.
— Amit Thadhani (@amitsurg) January 4, 2025
Surgeon Thadhani said that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, which caused Covid, is one that is found only in animals and birds. While HMPV is commonly found in humans. China has denied that these cases are worrying. China has attributed the increase in HMPV cases each year to seasonal changes.
