India well positioned to monitor respiratory infections: no worrying threat according to Dr Gagandeep Kang – Infos Vie

The winter months are often associated with respiratory infections. However, with an apparent new threat facing China, some anxiety is growing around expectations and preparations to adopt. The recently reported virus is Human MetaPneumovirus, or simply HMPV. Post-COVID, viral infections now come in acronyms that seem to cover almost every letter of the English alphabet: ILI, SARI, RSV, and now HMPV.

In these circumstances, it is essential to turn to the expertise of Dr. Gagandeep Kang, a renowned virologist in India, associate professor at the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore and director in the global health division of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .

“The Indian government is now in a much better position to assess the evolution of infectious diseases. Before COVID, there was no surveillance for respiratory infections. Now, the information the government provides about Human MetaPneumoVirus (HMPV), this new virus of concern, is actually based on hard data,” says Dr. Kang.

She specifies that “the government has set up a network of surveillance sites (spread across the country) aimed at identifying all the causes of respiratory infections, in particular Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection ( SARI). This monitoring network has been running for some time now and is generating very useful data. »

But how useful is this data? “When you look at details like increases in hospital admissions and variations in the causes of these conditions, you can determine whether a particular pathogen is experiencing a significant increase. This allows us to affirm that there is no cause for concern at the moment,” she emphasizes.

“I strongly believe in data-driven decision making. If we observe that infections are not increasing significantly and that HMPV is one of the many infectious agents observed in this pathology, this demonstrates that the government is using its surveillance network brilliantly,” explains Dr Kang.

The respiratory surveillance network, established after the COVID pandemic, includes stable surveillance sites, such as the ILI and SARI network, led by the Ministry of Health. “This network has been structured systematically, and it tracks ILI and SARI admissions over the long term, typically seeing an increase in these cases during the winter months,” she adds.

The case detected in Bengaluru therefore does not seem to indicate a new crisis, but rather the result of improved surveillance.

Regarding treatments, Dr. Kang explained that there is no particularly effective antiviral against HMPV and that for most respiratory infections, there is no need to worry about antivirals. She also warns that severe symptoms and prolonged recovery time, sometimes more than 10 or 15 days, should not be attributed only to pathogens, but also to ambient pollution.

To conclude, she recommends that affected people “manage their symptoms”, by favoring steam inhalations and taking paracetamol for fever, while consulting a doctor in the event of respiratory distress. If pneumonia progresses, the doctor may decide whether antibiotics are needed.