HMPV Cases Update: No Surge in Respiratory Illnesses, States Advised to Increase Vigil

HMPV Cases Update: HMPV Cases Update: In light of the spread of the largely benign Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China, all states have been advised to increase their surveillance for Severe Acute Respiratory Illnesses (SARI) and Influenza Like Illness (ILI) to detect an upsurge in respiratory diseases.

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The direction was given during a meeting of all the states with the officials of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), said a health official in Karnataka. “An advisory has been given that all SARI cases must be tested (for HMPV) and the kits for testing will be sent to the states,” the official said.

“The Department of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of Karnataka, has analysed the data of prevailing respiratory infections like common cold, ILI and SARI within the state and there is no significant increase in the reported number of cases in December 2024 compared to the previous year,” the Karnataka health department said Monday.

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An IDSP review of all states on Monday also did not report any major increase in respiratory infections across the country. Nine cases of HMPV were, however, reported to have been detected in India in December with zero mortalities, ahead of the reporting on January 6, when two new cases of HMPV were confirmed in two infants in Bengaluru and one case in Ahmedabad.

In three cases reported till now in January, a three-month infant in Bengaluru has been discharged, while an eight-month infant is recovering. The patient described herein has recovered and has been discharged from the hospital.

As per the IDSP, "there has been no unusual spike" in ILI or SARI cases across the country. ILI and SARI trends will continue to be monitored by the IDSP and extensions of state and district units under the disease surveillance program have been instructed to do the same.

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