HMPV cases rise in India: How virus can cause serious illness in children

India has reported seven cases of human metapneumovirus (HMPV), a respiratory virus whose symptoms are usually similar to a cold. Two infants were infected in Karnataka’s Bengaluru, two children tested positive in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, a baby in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, and two cases emerged in Tamil Nadu – one in Chennai and another in Salem.

HMPV has spread in northern provinces of China among children under the age of 14 amid the annual winter surge in respiratory infections. Cases have also been reported in Hong Kong and Malaysia.

First identified by scientists in 2001, HMPV, which belongs to the Pneumoviridae family, can cause both upper and lower respiratory tract infections. As per Cleveland Clinic, young children, people over the age of 65 and those with weakened immune systems are more vulnerable to serious illness.

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Let’s take a closer look.

HMPV infecting children

China has seen a rise in HMPV cases in children, as per Chinese state media.

According to China Daily’s report last month, a Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official said that HMPV was among the respiratory viruses spreading in the country.

Without disclosing the figures, the Chinese CDC on January 2 reported a spike in overall respiratory diseases between December 23 and December 29.

Kan Biao, head of the China CDC’s National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement on December 27 that the rate of HMPV among children aged 14 and below was increasing, according to China Daily.

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In India, five HMPV cases are confirmed to have been detected in children. Tamil Nadu has not released details about the two patients.

Two children aged seven and 14 have been infected by the virus in Nagpur, as per an India Today report. A two-month-old boy tested positive for HMPV at a private hospital in Ahmedabad.

In Bengaluru, a three-month-old girl detected with the virus was discharged from the hospital, while a boy aged eight months is recovering. Both the patients had a history of bronchopneumonia, as per a statement by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

In the wake of these cases, many private schools in Bengaluru city have asked parents not to send their children to classes if they have even a mild cough, cold, or fever, reported The Hindu.

Malaysia’s health ministry reported 327 cases of HMPV infections last year, a 45 per cent surge from the 225 cases in 2023.

Why children can get seriously ill

Most cases of HMPV are mild. However, about five per cent to 16 per cent of children develop a lower respiratory tract infection like pneumonia, as per the Cleveland Clinic report.

It says that young kids are at a higher risk of serious illness because a person is more likely to get “severely sick” the first time they contract HMPV.

“Children, immunocompromised populations and the elderly are susceptible and they are more likely to be co-infected with other respiratory viruses. HMPV often causes common cold symptoms, manifested as cough, fever, nasal congestion and wheezing, but sometimes it can result in bronchitis and pneumonia in severe cases,” China’s CDC reportedly said.

Experts say the risk of HMPV has not notably changed since its discovery in 2001.

“HMPV has been recognised as a significant problem in the at-risk population across the world since the turn of the century when it was first discovered,” Andrew Easton, a virology professor at the University of Warwick in the UK who studies pneumoviruses, told Live Science in an email. “That risk has not changed significantly over the last almost 25 years.”

He added but “it is always concerning to see a change in the incidence or pattern of an infection”.

“HMPV is a serious concern especially for very young infants in the first year of life,” Easton said, adding that so is respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or seasonal influenza.

Is there a need for alarm?

Public health experts have been emphasising that HMPV is not a new virus and there is no need to panic. Fears of it turning to another COVID-19-like pandemic have also been dismissed.

Former chief scientist of the World Health Organization Dr Soumya Swaminathan wrote on X,  It’s a known virus that causes respiratory infections, mostly mild."

Urging people to take precautions, she said, “Rather than jump at detection of every pathogen, we should all take normal precautions when we have a cold: wear a mask, wash hands, avoid crowds, consult a doctor if severe symptoms.”

Speaking to The Washington Post, Amesh Adalja, an infectious-diseases physician and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said, “People don’t realise that metapneumovirus virus is just one of those cadre of viruses that causes upper respiratory infections and has been doing so for a very long time. We’re just getting better about testing it and naming it. That can sometimes lead to stories that can be sensationalistic.”

There is no vaccine for HMPV. To prevent infection, experts recommend washing hands, covering your nose and mouth while sneezing, wearing masks outside and avoiding sick people.

With inputs from agencies