HMPV cases in Gujarat: 80-year-old man tests HMPV positive in Ahmedabad
The elderly man has been admitted to the hospital on Wednesday and his samples tested positive for HMPV on Thursday. The man has been suffering from asthma for some time and his condition is stable at present, it said.
HMPV cases in India: On Thursday, officials confirmed that an 80-year-old man in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, had tested positive for human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infection. The patient is currently receiving treatment at a private hospital and he does not have any travel history abroad, a statement issued by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said.
He was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday and his samples tested positive for HMPV on Thursday. The man has been suffering from asthma for some time and his condition is stable at present, it said.
HMPV cases in Gujarat
Gujarat recorded its first case of HMPV virus on January 6. On Wednesday, another suspected case was reported in Himmatnagar town of Sabarkantha district. The blood sample of the patient - an eight-year-old boy, who is currently on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a private hospital in Himmatnagar - has been sent to a government hospital for confirmation, the officials said.
"The case is under screening. A sample has been sent to a government lab for confirmation, and the result is awaited," Sabarkantha district collector Ratankanvar Gadhavicharan said.
What is HMPV?
HMPV was first discovered in 2001 and belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family. It is closely related to the Respiratory Syncytial Virus. It spreads through respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing, as well as by touching contaminated surfaces or coming into direct contact with infected individuals.
Gujarat prepares for HMPV
Isolation wards have been created in Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Rajkot civil hospitals as a precautionary measure after Gujarat registered its first case HMPV - a respiratory illness with flu-like symptoms, officials said. To deal with any health emergency, isolation wards having 15 beds each (total 45) have been created in three major civil hospitals of Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Rajkot, a statement by the health department said.
Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said the state's Health and Family Welfare Department was on an alert mode with all arrangements in place to tackle the situation.
(With PTI inputs)