Odisha To Review Preparedness To Tackle Flu-Like HMPV On Jan 15 As India Reports 17 Cases

Bhubaneswar: No specific guidelines has been issued by the Centre for treating people diagnosed with Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) infections, Special Secteray, Health Department, Bijay Kumar Mohapatra informed on Sunday.

“Union Health Ministry and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has formed a technical advisory group to formulate the guidelines, according to which we will act. But Odisha is fully prepared to tackle such infections,” he said.

Mohapatra further stated that there is no specific treatment for HMPV infections. “The symptoms of common cold, cough and fever may aggravate to pneumonia, which a viral disease. The line of treatment is similar to pneumonia and it is available in all health facilities, which are well-stocked with essential medicines and oxygen supplies, since the outbreak of COVID pandemic,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Health Department has called for a crucial meeting on Wednesday to address concerns regarding the infection in the state. The meeting, which is expected to be attended by CDMOs, will also review preparedness of districts to tackle it.

The HMPV, which was first identified in the Netherlands in 2001, typically spreads through the air or when someone touches a contaminated surface, especially during winter and early spring. Doctors are reassuring the public that it is not similar to COVID-19 and won’t cause a pandemic.

According to reports, the rate of infections with the flu-like HMPV in northern China, which recently saw a surge in such cases, is declining.

India has so far reported 17 cases of HMPV. A nine-month-old child and a 59-year-old man in Gujarat tested positive for the infection on Saturday, taking the total number of cases in the state to five. Earlier, a 10-month-old child in Assam and a 3-year-old child in Puducherry were also diagnosed with HMPV.

Similarly, Maharashtra and Kolkata have reported 3 cases and Karnataka and Tamil Nadu 2 each. No case has so far been detected in Odisha.