HMPV case detected in Assam; 10-month-old tests positive in AMCH
Expert says "No Need To Worry". It is not like COVID
GUWAHATI- A 10-month-old child tested positive of HMPV after he was admitted to the hospital with cough and cold symptoms. This is the first such case this season in Assam, officials said on Saturday.
Days after Human metapneumovirus ( HMPV ) infection cases were detected in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, etc., another case of the virus has been detected in Assam. The child is undergoing treatment at Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh and is “stable” now, they said.
AMCH Superintendent Dr Dhrubajyoti Bhuyan said the child was admitted to the state-run hospital with cold-related symptoms four days ago. “The HMPV infection was confirmed yesterday after we got test results from the Lahowal-based ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre (ICMR-RMRC),” he said.
A senior official at the ICMR-RMRC in Lahowal said it was the first HMPV case this season.
“Since 2014, we have detected 110 HMPV cases in Dibrugarh district. Every year it is detected, and nothing is new. We have got the sample from AMCH and this has been found positive for HMPV,” he was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.
The HMPV is a respiratory virus and has recently gained attention after its outbreak in China. Experts, however, have dismissed fears that the situation is comparable to the beginnings of Covid-19 five years ago.
First discovered in 2001, it generally causes a mild infection of the upper respiratory tract and spreads via person-to-person contact or when someone touches a contaminated surface.
