Written By: Mrs. Mayuri Mathur

Published On: 09 Jan, 2025 5:56 PM | Updated On: 09 Jan, 2025 6:22 PM

Protecting Your Family from HMPV: Tips for All Ages

Protecting Your Family from HMPV: Tips for All Ages

Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), first identified in 2001, is a respiratory virus that can cause significant illness, particularly in young children, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems. Understanding how to protect your family from HMPV is essential, especially during peak seasons of respiratory infections.1 This article provides insight into spotting HMPV symptoms and simple hygiene habits to prevent its spread.

Spotting the Symptoms: When to Worry About HMPV

HMPV typically manifests similarly to other respiratory infections, hence, it is very crucial to assess the signs of respiratory distress. The common symptoms include:

• Cough

• Fever

• Nasal congestion

• Sore throat

• Wheezing

• Shortness of breath.

• Gastrointestinal symptoms including diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. 

In children, it usually presents as bronchiolitis, croup or pneumonia, which can prompt hospital admission, depending on the severity of symptoms. While HMPV can cause pneumonia and asthma flare-ups in adults.

If you or a family member displays these symptoms, it is crucial to seek medical advice. While most HMPV cases are mild such as common cold, some can lead to more severe respiratory illnesses requiring hospitalization, particularly in vulnerable populations such as adults with comorbidities, age greater than 65 years old, and immunocompromised patients, including those with HIV, cancer, immunomodulatory therapy, and transplant recipients.1-3

Simple Hygiene Habits to Prevent the Spread of HMPV

Preventing the spread of HMPV is vital for protecting your family, here are some effective hygiene habits to incorporate into your daily routine:

Hand Hygiene:

• Encourage all family members to wash their hands frequently, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.

• When soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, can be particularly useful for children.

Cover Coughs and Sneezes: 

Use your elbow to cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. This should especially be considered in people have cold-like symptoms, as it can significantly reduce the spread of respiratory viruses.

Avoid Close Contact:

• Try to maintain a safe distance from individuals who show symptoms of illness, such as coughing or sneezing.

• Avoid sharing your cups and eating utensils with others, if you are sick.

• If possible, avoid crowded places, consider wearing a mask if you are ill and cannot avoid being around others.

Disinfect Surfaces:

Frequently clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces in your home, such as doorknobs, toys, and countertops to remove potential sources of infection.

Monitor Symptoms:

• Be vigilant for persons who shows symptoms of HMPV.

• Watch out for worsening symptoms, such as rapid breathing, wheezing, or bluish lips, and seek medical attention immediately.1,3,4

Why Seniors and Those with Chronic Conditions Need Extra Care

Although HMPV can occur in any age group, it is most common in the elderly and patients with underlying medical conditions. It is considered a major cause of serious breathing problems in adults over 65 years old and in those who have other health issues, like COPD, asthma, cancer, or weakened immune systems. Not only is HPMV more likely to cause bronchiolitis, bronchitis, or pneumonia in adults, but its symptoms are also more severe in nature.5

Therefore, it is crucial for caregivers and family members to be especially vigilant and look for warning signs including:

• Wheezing (high-pitched breathing sounds)

• Cyanosis (bluish tint to the lips or fingers)

• Shortness of breath

• Rapid breathing 

• Chest retractions (visible pulling of chest muscles during breathing).3

Early recognition of these symptoms and prompt medical care are essential to prevent complications in vulnerable populations. Giving patients and their families instructions on how to clean surfaces at home is crucial. In addition, precautions against droplets and proper hand washing are crucial to further reduce the risk of exposure to HMPV.2

How Community Programs Can Help Raise Awareness

The risk of HMPV infection remains significant, likely due to a lack of awareness. When respiratory viral infections occur, they are frequently attributed to influenza and labeled as 'flu.' While diagnostic tests exist for influenza, HMPV is often overlooked. New multiplex tests that can detect HMPV are too expensive for many hospitals, leading to underdiagnosis and underreporting of HMPV-related diseases. Therefore, it is crucial to enhance research and awareness efforts in the HMPV field, a few of those strategies include:

• Boosting research to understand how the virus triggers the body’s immune response.

• Enhancing monitoring to better understand how many people are affected by HMPV.

• Raising awareness about HMPV among doctors and patients.

• Creating an affordable test to detect HMPV.

• Developing new medications and treatment methods for HMPV.

• Promoting the development of vaccines for HMPV through clinical trials and approval processes.6

Successful implementation of infection prevention and control necessitates ongoing interaction with communities and continuous evaluation of changes in behavior. One of the most effective methods is social media, which has the potential to enhance the number of interactions that hospital staff or communities can have with online resources, making information more readily accessible. Utilization of public platforms for health communication also offers a chance for meaningful peer, social, and emotional support for both communities and patients.7

Conclusion

HMPV poses a significant health risk, particularly to vulnerable populations such as the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems. Awareness of HMPV symptoms and the implementation of simple hygiene practices—such as frequent handwashing, covering your face while coughing, and disinfecting surfaces—are vital in preventing its spread. Caregivers should remain vigilant for severe symptoms and seek prompt medical attention when necessary. Additionally, community efforts to raise awareness and improve access to testing and treatment are essential for addressing HMPV's underdiagnosis. By prioritizing education and prevention, we can better safeguard our families and communities against HMPV.

References:

1. Human Metapneumovirus-CDC. [Internet]. [cited Jan 07 2025] Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/human-metapneumovirus/about/index.html#:~:text=8/15/2016-,Symptoms,respiratory%20infections%20caused%20by%20viruses.

2. Uddin S, Thomas M. Human Metapneumovirus. National Library of Medicine. 2023, July 17. [Internet]. [cited Jan 07 2025] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560910/#:~:text=Human%20metapneumovirus%20(HMPV)%20is%20a,been%20infected%20with%20the%20virus.

3. HMPV: Key symptoms parents should watch for in children. 2025, Jan 07. [Internet]. [cited Jan 07 2025] Available at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/hmpv-key-symptoms-parents-should-watch-for-in-children/articleshow/117008071.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cpps

4. Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV)-Cleveland Clinic. [Internet]. [cited Jan 07 2025] Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22443-human-metapneumovirus-hmpv

5. Haas LE, Thijsen SF, van Elden L, Heemstra KA. Human metapneumovirus in adults. Viruses. 2013 Jan 8;5(1):87-110. doi: 10.3390/v5010087. PMID: 23299785; PMCID: PMC3564111.

6. Russell CJ, Penkert RR, Kim S, Hurwitz JL. Human Metapneumovirus: A Largely Unrecognized Threat to Human Health. Pathogens. 2020 Feb 13;9(2):109. doi: 10.3390/pathogens9020109. PMID: 32069879; PMCID: PMC7169409.

7. Madhumathi J, Sinha R, Veeraraghavan B, Walia K. Use of "Social Media"-an Option for Spreading Awareness in Infection Prevention. Curr Treat Options Infect Dis. 2021;13(1):14-31. doi: 10.1007/s40506-020-00244-3. Epub 2021 Jan 23. PMID: 33519303; PMCID: PMC7826144.