The Union Health Ministry on Monday said the Indian Council of Medical Research has detected two cases of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in Karnataka through routine surveillance for multiple respiratory viral pathogens.
The ministry said the three-month-old baby was suffering from bronchopneumonia and was admitted to Baptist Hospital in Bengaluru, where she was diagnosed with HMPV. He has already been discharged.
An eight-month-old infant suffering from bronchopneumonia was admitted to Baptist Hospital on January 3, after which he tested positive for hMPV. He is now said to be recovering.
The ministry underlined that it is important to note that both the patients have no international travel history.
It was emphasized that HMPV is already prevalent globally, including in India, and cases of associated respiratory diseases have been reported in various countries.
Furthermore, based on current data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) network, there was no unusual increase in cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) or severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) in the country. Is.
The ministry said it is monitoring the situation through all available monitoring channels. ICMR will continue to monitor trends in HMPV circulation throughout the year.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is already providing timely updates on the situation in China to provide further information about the ongoing measures.
The ministry said recent preparedness exercises conducted across the country have shown that India is well equipped to deal with any potential surge in respiratory diseases and that public health interventions can be implemented immediately if needed. .
Amid reports of rising cases of respiratory diseases in China over the past few weeks, a meeting of the Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) chaired by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) was held on Saturday.
