HMPV cases updates: States step up surveillance following Centre’s advisory

Several states across India continue to step up public health measures and prepare their health systems following the Centre’s advice to strengthen awareness of preventive measures against the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) infection.

The Centre has urged people not to panic and said the virus is neither a new pathogen nor causing a widespread disease outbreak.

So far, seven positive cases have been reported in India. Two positive cases reported from Nagpur were discharged on Tuesday and continue to be in “good health”, news agency PTI reported, citing an official.

Dr Gopi Chand Khilnani, chairman of PSRI Institute of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, explained that the HMPV virus is transmitted “basically by respiration, ‘coughing’”. Khilnani noted that those susceptible to the virus, likely elderly people and those with respiratory illnesses, should be extra careful.

Note

The human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a common respiratory virus that typically causes mild cold-like symptoms. Studies show it has circulated in human populations since the 1970s, though scientists first identified it in 2001.

The virus accounts for 4-16% of acute respiratory infections globally, with cases usually peaking between November and May. While most adults have developed immunity through previous exposure, hMPV can cause more severe symptoms in infants encountering it for the first time and in people with weakened immune systems.