3-month-old tests positive for HMPV in Ahmedabad, third case in India

The three-month-old had been admitted to the hospital a week ago with a cough, cold, and fever.

Dr Sagar Patel, a neonatologist, said while the paediatric hospital usually reported 2-3 HMPV cases every year, they reported the latest case to the state government due to the panic being spread over a virus “that is endemic to India”.

“We conducted a viral panel which came positive for HMPV. The child was admitted about a week ago and was on a ventilator. Four days ago, we sent the samples to a private laboratory and they came positive for HMPV. But by the time the report arrived, the condition of the child had already improved, and was off the ventilator support,” the doctor said.

In a statement issued Monday morning, the Union Health Ministry said the virus was already in circulation in India as well as globally, “and cases of respiratory illnesses associated with HMPV have been reported in various countries.”

“Furthermore, based on current data from 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,” the statement said.

Stating that there was “no need to panic”, Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said the state government was ensuring that testing facilities for the HMPV virus are available in government hospitals across the state and did not see it “as a challenge”.

Speaking in Vadodara, where he was on a visit to inspect facilities at the civic-run SSG hospital as well as the Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society (GMERS) Gotri hospital, Patel said, “A case of a two-month-old child from Dungarpur in Rajasthan had arrived in Gujarat for treatment and tested positive for HMPV. Even a challenge like Covid-19 was handled by the entire country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is not even a challenge. It is an infectious disease that has symptoms of cold and fever. It is a contagious virus but it has been prevalent since 2001.”

Minister Patel said that the state government’s priority was to ensure testing is available in all hospitals. “There is no need for panic as the symptoms are the same as flu and the treatment is also meant to alleviate specific symptoms. It affects young children and those with compromised immunity,” he said.

“The Gujarat state government will do whatever is needed when it is needed. Dos and Don’ts have been issued as a precautionary measure. Right now, there is no need to make wearing masks mandatory,” the minister  added.

Fielding a question on the need to screen foreign travellers, Patel said that the Central government would make appropriate decisions. “Whenever there is an outbreak or a threat like Covid-19, the Central government will swing into action along with scientific and medical agencies, who will monitor the country-wide situation and then issue guidelines that will be applicable to all the states,” the health minister added.