HMPV cases in India rise to 13 as two more infections reported from Gujarat, Assam
India's first case of HMPV was identified in Karnataka earlier this week. Since then, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Gujarat have also reported HMPV infections. While HMPV is not a new infection, the current outbreak has raised alarm bells due to a high number of cases in China.
The number of confirmed human metapneumovirus (HMPV) cases in India has risen to 13 after a 10-month-old child from Assam became the latest to test positive for the infection. According to officials, the child was admitted to the Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh with cold-related symptoms four days ago.
CREDIT: LIVE SCIENCE
First HMPV case in Assam
¡°The HMPV infection was confirmed yesterday after we got test results from Lahowal-based ICMR-RMRC,¡± AMCH Superintendent Dr. Dhrubajyoti Bhuyan said.
According to Bhuyan, samples are sent to the Indian Council of Medical Research for tests in influenza and flu-related cases as a routine practice.
"It was a routine test during which the HMPV infection was detected. The child is stable now. It is a common virus and there is nothing to worry about," he said.
CREDIT: BCCL
3 HMPV infections reported in Gujarat
Earlier, on Friday, an eight-year-old boy from Gujarat's Sabarkantha district had tested positive for HMPV, making it the third confirmed case in the state.
The boy, who belongs to a family of farm labourers from Prantij taluka, was found positive for HMPV in a test run by a private laboratory and is currently admitted to a private hospital in Himmatnagar town.
CREDIT: IANS
HMPV cases in India
India's first case of HMPV was identified in Karnataka earlier this week. Since then, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Gujarat have also reported HMPV infections.
While HMPV, which was discovered in 2001, is not a new infection, the current outbreak has raised alarm bells due to reports of a high number of cases in China.
What China said about HMPV outbreak
Amid fears of a COVID-like outbreak, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday that it had maintained close communication with the World Health Organization (WHO) over HMPV.
CREDIT: ANI
Earlier this week, the WHO said that HMPV cases in China are within the expected range and that there was no unusual outbreak in the country.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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