Gujarat Reports Second Confirmed HMPV Case: 80-Year-Old Ahmedabad Man Tests Positive

Ahmedabad: An 80-year-old man in Ahmedabad, has tested positive for human metapneumovirus (HMPV), marking the state's second confirmed case. The patient, who suffers from asthma, is currently receiving treatment at a private hospital and is in stable condition.

A statement issued by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said that the patient does not have any travel history abroad. This latest case comes after a two-month-old boy from Rajasthan was diagnosed with HMPV on January 6 and successfully treated. Another suspected case has been reported in Himmatnagar, involving an eight-year-old boy who is currently on ventilator support.

The Ahmedabad officials stated that the elderly patient was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday and his samples tested positive for HMPV on Thursday. The man has been suffering from asthma for some time and his condition is stable at present, it said.

Gujarat recorded its first case of the HMPV virus on January 6. A two-month-old boy from Rajasthan was found infected and discharged after undergoing treatment at a hospital here.

A suspected case was reported in Himmatnagar town of Sabarkantha district on Wednesday. The blood sample of the patient, an 8-year-old boy, who is currently on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a private hospital in Himmatnagar, has been sent to a government hospital for confirmation, the officials said.

HMPV, first discovered in 2001, belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family and is closely related to the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). The virus spreads through respiratory droplets, contaminated surfaces, and direct contact with infected individuals.