The Ministry said it is closely monitoring the situation in China through all available channels. File
| Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal
The Union Health Ministry on Saturday (January 4, 2025) said it convened a Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) Meeting under the Chairmanship of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in view of rising cases of respiratory illnesses, particularly Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China for the past few weeks.
The Ministry said it is closely monitoring the situation in China through all available channels.
“India is well-prepared to handle respiratory illnesses and the surveillance shows no unusual surge. A robust surveillance system for Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) for Influenza is already in place in India through both ICMR and IDSP networks and the data from both indicates no unusual surge in ILI & SARI cases,” it said in a press release.
The meeting comprised of experts from the World Health organization (WHO), the Disaster Management (DM) Cell, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Emergency Medical Relief (EMR) Division, and hospitals, including AIIMS, Delhi.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also been requested to share timely updates regarding the situation.
“ICMR network also tests for other respiratory viruses such as Adenovirus, RSV, HMPV etc. and these pathogens also do not show an unusual increase in the tested samples. As a precautionary measure, the number of laboratories testing for HMPV will be enhanced by ICMR, and ICMR will be monitoring trends of HMPV for the entire year,” it added.
HMPV spreads through coughing, sneezing, and close personal contact, including touching hands, objects, or surfaces with viruses before touching the mouth, nose, or eyes.
Published – January 04, 2025 08:42 pm IST
