India’s Health Ministry Reviews Rising HMPV Cases in China
Staff Reporter / NEW DELHI
Union health ministry on Saturday urged people to remain calm amid the tensions over the speculated spread of HMPV (human metapneumovirus) in China, assuring that India is “well-prepared” to handle respiratory illnesses and that the situation in China is “not unusual”.
The Union Health Ministry convened a Joint Monitoring Group meeting in view of rising cases of respiratory illnesses in China in the past few weeks. The meeting was held under the Chairmanship of the Director General of Health Services in New Delhi on Saturday.
Experts from the World Health Organization, Disaster Management Cell, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, National Centre for Disease Control, Indian Council of Medical Research, Emergency Medical Relief Division, and hospitals participated in the meeting. After detailed discussions and based on the currently available information, it was agreed that the situation in China is not unusual in view of the ongoing flu season.
The Ministry said in a statement that it is closely monitoring the situation in China through all available channels, and the World Health Organization has been requested to share timely updates regarding the situation.
These viruses are already in circulation globally, including India. A robust surveillance system for Influenza Like Illness and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness for Influenza is already in place in India. Physicians from hospitals also confirmed that there is no surge in respiratory illness cases in the last few weeks other than the expected seasonal variation.
However, the central government said that it is closely tracking the situation through all potential channel, adding that it has also requested the world health body to share regular updates on the scenario in China. “These viruses are already in circulation globally including India,” it said.
Further, the Centre said that India already has a vigorous surveillance system for Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) for Influenza. It noted that data from both the ICMR and IDSP networks show no unusual increase in the number of ILI and SARI cases.