The first case of HMPV or human metapneumovirus has been reported in the country from Bengaluru,Karnataka. A three month old baby girl admitted to a hospital in Bengaluru tested positive for the virus in the first week of January 2025. Since then cases have been reported from various states.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Affairs and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is monitoring the situation in the country.

In India some state governments like Maharashtra,Karnataka and Delhi have issued guidelines - similar to those followed during Covid-19 - to ensure preparedness for potential health challenges related to HMPV.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the human metapneumovirus is not a new virus and was first identified in 2001. It has been in circulation in the world for over sixty years.

There has been concern in the world as the cases of the human metapneumovirus cases have wreaked havoc in China. The Covid-19 pandemic first originated in China which created havoc all over the world in 2019-2020s.

About the HMPV or human metapneumovirus

The HMPV or human metapneumovirus was first identified in 2001 in the Netherlands.

The virus belongs to the Pneumoviridae family of viruses,along with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).The virus is found around the world and causes the common cold (upper respiratory infection).

Spread of the Virus

The virus normally spreads in the late winter and early spring. Like other common cold viruses the HMPV spreads through infectious respiratory particles from one infected to other persons.

It spreads when a person shares closed space with an infected sick person or touches contaminated surfaces like doorknobs or handles and then touches their eyes,mouth or nose.

Sign and Symptoms

The patient displays the same symptoms as a patient of cough and cold like sore throat, running nose, bodyache ,headache ,fever etc.

The infected person can fall sick with an infection of the lung (pneumonia) or inflammation of the airways to the lungs (bronchiolitis, bronchitis).

Risk group

According to the WHO children below 5 years and those with health conditions like immunosuppression, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are most vulnerable to metapneumovirus.

Treatment

There is no vaccine against the human metapneumovirus. It is not a serious disease which can cause havoc like Covid -19.