Bhubaneswar: The Health Department in Odisha has revealed that there is no special treatment for Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) infections.

The HMPV infections, in some cases, may aggravate from common cold, cough and fever to pneumonia, said Health Department Special Secretary Bijay Kumar Mohapatra today.

“There is no special treatment for HMPV infections. The treatment for HMPV is similar to that of pneumonia,” Mohapatra added.

In most cases, the HMPV infections are not severe. The Union Health Ministry is yet to issue any guideline for HMPV, said the Health Department.

“We are waiting for the guidelines suggested by the Union Health Ministry and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to deal with the HMPV. Odisha is fully prepared to tackle these infections,” Mohapatra said.  

The Health Department Special Secretary claimed that most of the hospitals in the state have proper infrastructure for treatment of HMPV.

“Our hospitals have been equipped with proper infrastructure for treatment of these kind of infections since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. We have already asked all districts in the state to intensify surveillance for HMPV. The hospitals have been asked to store medicines, oxygen and other essential commodities to face any eventuality,” he added.   

Notably, hundreds of cases of HMPV infections have been reportedly in China recently. A few cases have also been detected in some states in India.