HMPV not new virus, majority Indian population immune to it: Experts

New Delhi: The Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) is not a new virus and most of the Indian population are immune to it, said health experts on Monday, even as the number of reported cases climbed to three in the country.

On Monday, health officials in the country reported three cases of HMPV — babies aged three- and eight-month-old from Bengaluru (Karnataka) and a two-year-old child in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad.

“Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) is not a new virus. It has been part of the circulating flu virus in India for long. Hence, the majority of the Indian population has developed immunity against it,” Dr. Harshal R Salve, Additional Professor, Centre for Community Medicine at AIIMS, New Delhi, told IANS.

He added that the “chances of a severe disease are very rare”.

HMPV was first discovered in 2001 and is part of the Pneumoviridae family along with the Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The symptoms commonly associated with HMPV include cough, fever, nasal congestion, and shortness of breath.

“Like for any other flu viruses, elderly people, children and people with comorbidities must take care. There is no need to create panic, and one should stop rumour-mongering in the public,” Salve said.

The two cases from Karnataka were detected via routine surveillance by ICMR in a 3-month-old girl and an 8-month-old boy.

Both had a history of bronchopneumonia — a form of pneumonia, a lung infection, and were admitted to a private hospital. Bronchopneumonia affects both the alveoli in the lungs and the bronchi.

The Health Ministry informed that while the baby girl “has been discharged”, the baby boy “is now recovering”

In the third case, the child, from Rajasthan, was admitted to a private hospital in Chandkheda’s area of Ahmedabad, after showing symptoms of cold and cough. The child is stable now, reports quoted civic officials as saying.

“HMPV is not a new virus. It commonly causes colds among children and also some adults. For self-limiting colds, we don’t do expensive tests to diagnose which specific virus it is due to. Therefore, the finding of this virus upon testing is not anything unusual or worrisome,” Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, Chairman of the Kerala State IMA Research Cell, told IANS.

“All over the world, HMPV is a well-known cause of common cold,” he added.

HMPV is already in circulation globally, including in India, and cases of respiratory illnesses associated with HMPV have been reported in various countries, particularly in China.

“Common cold is more common in winter, therefore it is being reported from China at this time. People should not get the impression that a new virus from China has now reached Bangalore,” Jayadevan told IANS.

Notably, the three cases of HMPV have no travel history. Thus, it currently remains unknown whether the cases are related to the outbreak seen in China.

“They (infected children) have not traveled to China, Malaysia, or any other country. The outbreak in China is linked to a new variant of HMPV. We do not yet have full details, and the government is still gathering information,” said Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, while speaking to the media.

“HMPV isn’t new. What we don’t know is whether the strain is novel and has a virulence that’s different from what we’ve experienced in the past. Unless one knows that it is a novel strain, cases have been detected all the time! Hopefully, whole genome sequencing and clinical information will clarify soon,” said Lancelot Pinto, an Indian pulmonologist and epidemiologist, in a post on social media platform X.

Meanwhile, the government has issued precautionary measures such as covering mouth and nose with handkerchiefs or tissue paper while coughing, or sneezing; washing hands often with soap and water or alcohol-based sanitizer; avoiding crowded places; staying away from public places while having fever, cough, or sneezing.

IANS