Dhaka, Jan 16 Bangladesh reported on Thursday its first fatality from the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) when a woman died with multiple health complications.
The deceased, Sanjida Akhter, died around 6:00 pm local time Wednesday in the capital Dhaka's Infectious Diseases Hospital, where she had received treatment since Sunday.
Ariful Bashar, a senior consultant of the hospital, announced on Thursday that the woman had several underlying conditions, including obesity, kidney issues, and lung complications.
The death comes days after Bangladesh reported its first case of HMPV infection this season, with the woman testing positive for the virus.
Ahmed Nowsher Alam, head of virology at the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said the woman also tested positive for Klebsiella Pneumoniae, a variant of pneumonia.
The patient had no history of overseas travel, he mentioned.
Tahmina Shirin, Director of IEDCR, had earlier said that the HMPV was first detected in Bangladesh in 2017. Since then, the virus has been reportedly identified almost every year in winter.
Discovered in 2001, HMPV is in the Pneumoviridae family along with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Broader use of molecular diagnostic testing has increased identification and awareness of HMPV as an important cause of upper and lower respiratory infection, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
HMPV can cause upper and lower respiratory disease in people of all ages, especially among young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC.
Surveillance data from the CDC's the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System shows HMPV to be most active during late winter and spring in temperate climates.
Symptoms commonly associated with HMPV include cough, fever, nasal congestion, and shortness of breath, according to the CDC.
Unlike Covid-19 and the flu, there is no vaccine for HMPV or antiviral drugs to treat it. Instead, doctors care for seriously ill people by tending to their symptoms.
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