In Kol, baby was treated in intensive care 2 mths ago
Times of India | 7 January 2025
Kolkata: The last known case of HMPV infection in Bengal, where the patient required intensive care, was two months ago. The five-month-old boy, who had travelled from Mumbai to Kolkata, had to stay in hospital for 10 days in Nov. He is now doing perfectly well.
Experts say HMPV is not uncommon in the city, especially in winter, and that patients rarely require hospital treatment. There was absolutely no need to panic, they said.
The infant tested positive for HMPV after his parents brought him to Peerless Hospital with complaints of high fever, diarrhoea, vomiting. He later developed respiratory distress and cough, and was admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit because of the severity of symptoms.
"A respiratory viral panel test confirmed HMPV," said Saheli Dasgupta, head of paediatric critical care at the hospital. "Because of falling oxygen saturation levels, which HMPV is known to cause, we managed the child on breathing support in PICU for a week. He was discharged in 10 days and is now doing well," she added. She said parents should not ignore symptoms like high fever, cough, breathing difficulties and loss of appetite, as quick intervention prevents complications.
Doctors said the virus was known to strike mostly in winter, and shows symptoms of fever, cough, cold and respiratory distress.
Health department officials, too, said they had seen seasonal surges of HMPV before. "During the adenovirus surge in Bengal two years ago, we found several cases of HMPV, causing respiratory infection among children. But we are keeping a close tab on the situation," said a source in the department.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee also said that there was no need to panic, adding that state govt would follow guidelines when they are set. "Our chief secretary has already held a meeting and taken precautionary measures," Banerjee told the press. "We do not have any alerts yet regarding HMPV. In case there are any, I will let you know," she added.
Though media reports of an uptick of HMPV in China have raised the alarm, China has described the surge as normal, as this happens often around this time of year. This, however, has failed to stop speculation of the possibility of a new variant of the virus causing the surge in that country.
"This is the time of viral infections, and hence HMPV should not be a major concern so far," said Dasgupta. "We get a few HMPV cases between Nov and March. We do not know the actual data in China. We also need to compare data with previous years' to see whether there is a sharper surge this time. In case there is a surge, we need to address the questions like ‘Why is this happening? Is it a new variant?' Nothing is clear so far."
Molecular biologist Abhirup Sarkar said a few HMPV cases are detected every year in Kolkata, like in other parts of the country. "The HMPV currently in circulation here is the normal one, which we have been detecting every now and then. There is speculation about a new variant causing the surge in China. This can only be substantiated with reports of sequencing," said Sarkar.