Bengaluru, Jan 6
The Karnataka government on Monday clarified that the two cases of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) detected in two babies -- aged three- and eight-month-old -- in Bengaluru, are not the first in India.
“We cannot call it the first case in the country. The virus already exists here. The individual may have been tested for this specific virus, and it has been detected, that’s all,” said Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, while speaking to the media, ahead of an emergency meeting on the matter.
“It is not proven that the case detected in Bengaluru is India’s first. That claim is not true. This is an existing virus, and a certain percentage of people are affected by it. It is not something new,” Rao further explained.
The minister clarified that the baby infected with the virus has no travel history and is from a local family.
“They have not traveled to China, Malaysia, or any other country. The outbreak in China is linked to a new variant of HMPV. We do not yet have full details, and the government is still gathering information. They may also be in the process of obtaining more details,” Rao said.