Nothing to be worried about HMPV virus: IEDCR

The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has said that the people of the country have nothing to be worried about the risks of the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) at the moment.

IEDCR Director Professor Dr Tahmina Shirin told BSS that HMPV was first detected in Bangladesh in 2017. Since then, it is detected more or less every year, she added.

So far, many people have been detected with the virus, but there is no history of complications, she said, adding that therefore, there is nothing to be worried about with the HMPV virus at the moment.

Mentioning that the virus is not harmful, she said, “Its symptoms are common, such as pneumonia, fever, cold, cough, and breathing problems. The risk of death is low. The mortality rate is almost non-existent. So, there is nothing to be panicked about it.”

It is mentionable that there has been an outbreak of the HMPV virus in China and Japan recently. The virus has also been detected in the bodies of two children in the neighboring country, India.

Keeping the detection of the virus in a neighboring country in consideration, the health department of Bangladesh has also kept the matter under vigilant surveillance.

Dean of the Faculty of Basic Science and Para Clinical Science at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and Director of Bangabandhu Super Specialized Hospital Professor Dr. Saif Ullah Munshi told BSS that the virus has been in our country for a long time. “It is not that harmful. It only infects children and the elderly people.”

He said, “Though it mainly causes breathing problems, sometimes it also causes body aches, vomiting, and pneumonia.”