Official announcements from the World Health Organization (WHO)

India Reports Seven HMPV Cases Amid China's Surge; Health Officials Urge Calm

Jan 6, 2025, 11:30 PM

India has reported its first cases of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), with initial detections in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Two infants, an eight-month-old boy and a three-month-old girl without any travel history, tested positive for the virus at the city's Baptist Hospital. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) confirmed these cases through routine surveillance. Additional cases have been reported in Nagpur, Maharashtra, where a seven-year-old and a fourteen-year-old tested positive, bringing the total number of HMPV cases in India to seven, including one case in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The Union Health Ministry has issued an advisory to states to enhance surveillance of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI). Health authorities, including Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, have urged the public not to panic, stating that HMPV is not a new virus and was first identified in 2001. The virus, currently surging in China, typically causes mild respiratory symptoms similar to the common cold or flu and primarily affects young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also stated that the situation is not a cause for concern.