Most HMPV patients are infants and young children and the majority have recovered or are recovering well. The Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said it is monitoring the situation through all channels while local authorities issue guidance on preparing to respond to a potential health challenge related to HMPV.
A woman wears a mask outside a hospital in Bengaluru City (India) on January 6
HMPV was identified in 2001 as a virus that causes common respiratory infections with flu-like symptoms. HMPV recently attracted attention when China recorded an increase in the number of respiratory infections in the northern provinces of the country, especially in children under 14 years old, according to CNA. Several other Asian countries are said to have recorded cases of the disease while health officials on other continents have also increased vigilance about the above developments.
According to the Magazine NewsweekKazakhstan’s Ministry of Health has recorded cases of HMPV as well as other diseases during this year’s respiratory disease season. Kazakhstan’s Sanitary and Epidemiological Control Committee said there were 30 cases of HMPV this flu season, fewer than the number of cases of seasonal flu, RSV, adenovirus or other viruses.
What do Chinese health officials say about the respiratory disease that is causing concern?
In another development, Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin on January 6 addressed concerns about the spread of HMPV in China, reassuring the Indonesian public that HMPV does not cause death, citing infection with this virus. like the common flu, according to Tempo magazine.
Previously, the New Straits Times newspaper on January 4 quoted an announcement from the Malaysian Ministry of Health saying that a total of 327 cases of HMPV infection were detected in the country in 2024, up from 225 cases recorded in 2023.
