Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) | Symptoms and conditions

Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) | Symptoms and conditions
By Medifyhome | Published: 2025-01-06 07:15:00 | Source: Medifyhome
It’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere, flu season is officially in full swing, and a new virus shines brighter than others. the Human papilloma virusor Human metapneumoviruscausing an outbreak in China. More than 200 people were affected and hospitals were filled with patients. China is grappling with another health crisis, and the threat of another pandemic looms across the world. Let’s learn more about this new virus and how we can stay safe.
What is human metapneumovirus?
Human metapentovirus, or HMP virusIt is an RNA virus from the family of avian influenza viruses, including respiratory syncytial virus. HMPV was first discovered in the Netherlands in 2001 as an undiagnosed virus that infects cell cultures in the laboratory. Some experts even say the virus has been spreading around the world since 1958. Like COVID-19, it is a seasonal virus, which may also indicate its temperature-sensitive nature.
What is the relationship between HMPV and COVID-19?
HMPV and COVID-19 are both influenza and share many similarities despite being from different families of viruses. Both cause similar symptoms, spread through coughs and droplets, and infect the respiratory system. This infection is also more common in children and the elderly and can range from mild to severe. The only difference is that no vaccine has been developed for HMPV, and the treatment remains undetermined except for COVID-19.
How is HMPV transmitted?
HMPV is transmitted via air droplets and usually through the airway. Here are some of how HMPV is transmitted to other people:
1. inhalation From droplets resulting from coughing.
2. Close physical contact Like a handshake.
3. aerosol Hanging in the air due to sneezing and talking.
4. Touching contaminated surfaces Such as door handles, televisions, and remote controls.
What are the symptoms of HMPV?
HMPV is a virus that infects the upper and lower respiratory tract and is known to cause symptoms similar to those of COVID-19. The symptoms that patients complain of include:
- Sneezing
- Cough
- sore throat
- Wheezing in severe cases
- Dyspnea in complicated pneumonia
- shortness of breath
- fever
- exhaustion
- headache
- Muscle pain.

All of these symptoms can occur in a range of mild to severe illnesses, and although they can be managed at home, more severe patients may require hospitalization.
Who is at risk of severe infection with human metapneumovirus?
Severe infections caused by HMPV can be seen mostly in people of advanced age as well as the following:
- Pregnant women
- Young children
- the elderly
- Individuals with weakened immune systems, such as those with AIDS and other immunodeficiency disorders
- Diabetics
These population groups should take extra care while going to crowded places.
What precautions can be taken to prevent HMPV?
Maintaining hand and respiratory hygiene is the first priority in preventing any infections due to the virus. Here are some other precautions you can take to prevent yourself from getting sick this winter. 1. Wear a mask while going out.
2. Maintain social distance and avoid close contact with people who are coughing.
3. Keep you Enhance immunity With exercise and healthy and nutritious food.
4. Avoid going out if you have the flu.
5. Maintenance Hand hygiene And use sanitizer after touching shared surfaces.
What are the emergency symptoms resulting from the injury that require hospitalization?
If you are infected with HMPV and develop any of the following symptoms, it is necessary to visit the hospital immediately:
- shortness of breath
- The percentage of oxygen in the blood drops to less than 95%
- Low blood pressure
- Loss of consciousness
- Altered sense
- Chest pain
What is the Indian health system’s approach to the new outbreak?
The Ministry of Health is taking effective steps to control this outbreak. The Ministry of Health has ensured that the country’s health system is more than adequate to deal with any potential spread of infection. the Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Virology Testing and screening have increased Humpf He also confirmed that the Indian strain of this virus is much milder and there is no need to worry. The advisory asks people to observe respiratory and hand hygiene and avoid crowded places.
conclusion Now that we know more about… HMP virusIt is easy to see that although there is no reason to panic, caution is required for the sake of public health. Children and the elderly are more susceptible to complications and therefore should be more careful. The general respiratory health and hygiene precautions observed during COVID-19, along with maintaining good health, are more than sufficient.
How long does it take to recover from human metapneumovirus?
Recovery time from HMPV usually takes 7 to 10 days. However, it also depends on the types of symptoms affecting the body. You may also have symptoms, such as cough, that take longer to go away.
Hmpv cases in india
In a Bangalore hospital, two children tested positive for Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV).
ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ



