The total number of cases of coronavirus-like human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in the country has reached 15. On Saturday, the first case was reported in Assam when a 10-month-old child was detected positive for the pathogen while in Gujarat, a fourth case was reported after a 9-month-old baby was found to be affected with the respiratory illness.
Gujarat has the highest number of 4 cases of HMPV in the country. Maharashtra has 3 cases, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have 2 cases each, and UP, Rajasthan, Assam and Bengal have reported one case each.
The 10-month-old child is undergoing treatment at Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh. His condition is stable, said the State Health officials, adding that the child was admitted to the government hospital four days ago due to symptoms of cold and cough.
Even as the Centre and many health experts have maintained that there is no need to worry as the virus has been doing the rounds in the country for the past several years, States are not leaving anything to chance given the rise in cases in neighbouring China. As a part of its vigilance measures, Punjab has issued an advisory urging the elderly people and children to wear masks. Meanwhile, isolation wards are being built in hospitals in Gujarat which have reported the highest number of cases, raising further concerns about the virus’ spread. In Haryana too, the health department has been ordered to keep an eye on HMPV cases.
HMPV spreads through respiratory droplets released when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It can also be transmitted by touching contaminated surfaces or through direct contact with an infected individual.
As per a recent study by researchers from JIPMER-Puducherry, a leading national institute and tertiary care hospital, HMPV, which is known to cause respiratory issues in children, has not only been circulating in India for years but has also evolved. The virus is classified into two main genotypes, A and B, with subgroups such as A1, A2, B1, and B2, along with additional sub-clusters like A2a, A2b, and A2c.
For the first time, JIPMER researchers have identified two new HMPV sub-clusters — A2.2.1 and A2.2.2 — within the A genotype in India. These newly identified strains show similarities to isolates detected in the United States in 2010 and Japan in 2018.
The study is published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases (IJID).
