New Delhi, Jan 7: Children and elderly with cold and cough must stay at home to prevent the spread of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), a respiratory illness currently seeing an uptick in the country, said former AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria, on Tuesday.

Speaking to media, Guleria, Chairman, Institute of Internal Medicine, Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Medanta Gurugram, said that prevention is most important.

“If the child has fever, cold, and cough, the child should stay at home for at least 5 to 7 days, so that the child does not give the infection to others in the school,” he said.

He also recommended schools issue advisory to parents to not send such children to school, which can then also spread to the elderly.

So far, seven cases of HMPV — Karnataka (2), Gujarat (1), and Tamil Nadu (2) have been reported. All the cases were detected in young children ranging from 3 months old to 13 years old.

Guleria urged for following public health measures like regular handwashing and, the use of masks, which can protect from other respiratory illnesses like flu.

“I think the lessons we learned from, Covid are something that everyone should follow, especially during this time, because this will protect you not only from the HMPV but even from Covid or other influenza-related viruses.

“Covid appropriate behaviour such as wearing a mask, regular hand washing, cough etiquettes like covering your cough. If you don’t have a tissue or a handkerchief cover your cough/sneeze in your arm or elbow so that you don’t spread the infection, avoid going to crowded places,” the noted pulmonologist told media.

Guleria said that the virus is not new and causes only mild infection in young children and elderly persons. He added the infection is self-limiting and must not be treated with antibiotics but with proper hydration and nutrition.

Meanwhile, Union Minister JP Nadda, in a video message, said that the HMPV is not a new virus.

“It was first identified in 2001 and has been circulating in the entire world since many years, It spreads through the air by the way of respiration. This can affect persons of all age groups. The virus spreads more during the winter and the early spring months,” said the Union Minister.

The Health Ministry, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), and the National Centre for Disease Control are keeping a close watch on the situation in China, as well as in neighbouring countries, Nadda assured.

“There is no reason to worry. We are closely monitoring the situation,” he added.

Mumbai, Jan 7: As more clarity emerged around HMPV amid increased surveillance across the country, India’s domestic benchmark indices closed higher on Tuesday amid positive global cues while buying was seen in metal, media, energy, commodities, PSU bank, financial service, pharma and FMCG sectors.

Sensex ended at 78,199.11, up by 234.12 points, or 0.30 per cent, and Nifty settled at 23,707.90, up by 91.85 points or 0.39 per cent.

Nifty Bank ended at 50,202.15, up by 280.15 points, or 0.56 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 56,869.3 after rising 502.35 points, or 0.89 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 18,673.45 after rising 248.20 points, or 1.35 per cent.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,627 shares ended in green and 1,356 shares in red, whereas there was no change in 103 shares.

According to market experts, amid positive global cues indicating no major concerns regarding HMPV, the domestic market partially recovered from yesterday’s sharp sell-off but traded within a range ahead of the critical first advance estimates for India’s FY25 GDP.

“In the near term, the market is expected to remain cautious, awaiting signs of earnings recovery during the upcoming result season, while also dealing with ongoing FII selling which is driven by the strengthening dollar, rising US bond yields, and reduced expectations of further rate cuts,” they noted.

On the sectoral front, auto, IT and consumption segments were major losers.

In the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Nestle India, UltraTech Cement, L&T, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Titan, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Sun Pharma and SBI were the top gainers. Whereas Zomato, HCL Tech, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys and Bajaj Finserv were the top losers.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 2,575.06 crore on January 6 and domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 5,749.65 crore on the same day.

“As the market approaches critical support and resistance levels, investors are advised to monitor price action closely and adopt a cautious stance in the coming sessions,” said experts.

Mumbai, Jan 7: Two cases of Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) were detected in Maharashtra’s Nagpur on Tuesday, said officials here, adding that both are children and their condition was stable.

The two girls, aged 13 and 7, had shown the symptoms. According to the state public health department sources, after two days of continuous fever, these girls undertook tests in a private lab and tested positive. They were treated at home and their condition was stable.

Taking serious note, the state government has established a Task Force headed by the JJ Hospital Dean Dr Pallavi Saple to craft standard operating procedure (SOP) and decide on future course of action.

“Both these girls had cough and fever, their samples have been sent to NIV as they had slightly different symptoms. Both the children did not need to be admitted to the hospital and both the patients have recovered,” said sources.

“Parents don’t need to worry, this virus is not like Corona. It is mild,” said Superintendent of Government Medical and Hospital in Nagpur Dr Avinash Gawande. However, he suggested that children should wear masks.

Maharashtra Health Minister Prakash Abitkar called an urgent meeting of the department regarding the HMPV virus. It is reported that Union Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav will also be present in this meeting. The minister has urged the people not to panic.

The medical education commissioner, Rajiv Nivatkar, held a virtual meeting with the Deans of government medical colleges to review their preparedness to tackle HMPV patients and briefed them about the measures to be taken.

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has gone into an alert mode as special wards have been set up to treat HMPV patients.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said, “There is no reason to fear the HMPV virus. According to preliminary information, this virus is not new, this virus was prevalent earlier also. It seems that this virus is making a comeback once again. The regulations in this regard will be announced. The Union Health Ministry has decided to inform the states. Do not give fictitious information in this regard. Only the official information that comes should be given.”

The state health department has issued an advisory asking the district administration to keep a close vigil while stepping up surveillance of patients with cold and cough.

The Health Department Director Dr Nitin Ambadekar said, ‘Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) causes respiratory infections. This virus was first detected in the Netherlands in 2001. It is a common respiratory virus that causes infections in the upper respiratory tract. It is a seasonal epidemic and occurs in winter and early summer, like the flu. With the increased risk of HMPV, the Health Department has analyzed the respiratory infection statistics in the state. There was no increase in respiratory infections in the state in December 2024 compared to 2023. As a precautionary measure, the Health Department has said that citizens should take precautions to protect themselves from respiratory infections, he said. The department has also released dos and don’ts to be followed by the citizens.”