An eight-month-old baby was detected with HMPV in Bengaluru, making it the first such case in the city. The case came to notice in Baptist Hospital in the northern part of the city. However, the Karnataka health department clarified it didn’t get the sample tested in their labs.
“The reports have come from a private hospital and we have no reason to doubt the tests of the private hospital,” a health department source said.
The HMPV, or human metapneumovirus, is usually detected in children under the age of 11. About 0.7 per cent of all flu samples are HMPV.
“We don’t know what strain of virus this is yet, because we don’t have data on what the strain of the virus detected in China is,” the source said.
Health Commissioner Harsha Gupta said it isn’t unusual that the child was detected with the virus. “HMPV being detected in the child is not unusual. In the past, we have identified cases related to HMPV in many patients. There is nothing alarming about this, so there is no need for anyone to panic. If there are any new strains of HMPV, ICMR should send us directives or updated guidelines. So far, no specific protocols have been issued for this. There is no travel history associated with the child. As of now, there is nothing to worry about regarding this virus,” he said.
On January 4, the state health department released a statement-cum-advisory after China warned about the outbreak of HMPV in the country. In the release, the government had said that “there was no case of HMPV reported in the state of Karnataka”.
In the release, the health department stated that after analysing the data on prevailing respiratory infections within Karnataka, there was no significant increase in the reported number of cases in December 2024 compared to the previous year.
According to the central government, HMPV cases have been reported in India in the past.
Earlier, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said the state was closely monitoring the situation and that it was ready to deal with HMPV cases in case of an outbreak.