Aizawl, Jan 7 (PTI) The Mizoram government has formed a committee to monitor the spread of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) and assess the situation, an official statement said on Tuesday.

The committee was set up following a meeting which was chaired by Health Minister Lalrinpuii on Monday, it said.

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The meeting also constituted rapid response teams at both the state and district levels to deal with the infection. The meeting, attended by important health officials, also reviewed the situation in the country as well as the state, it said.

The integrated disease surveillance programme (IDSP) of the state health department has been keeping a close watch on the spread of the respiratory virus after its outbreak in China and the detection of some cases in India, a senior official said.

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IDSP state nodal officer Dr Rengpuia told reporters that IDSP has been in touch with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding the outbreak.

Meanwhile, the IDSP issued a public notice informing the public that HMPV is a respiratory disease, which is not new but has appeared globally in previous years.

The health department is closely monitoring the situation through the IDSP and there have been no recent reports of a surge in influenza-like illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) in the state, it said.

Clinical tests of various respiratory viruses under several laboratories of ICMR also indicated that there is no surge in positive cases of adenovirus, HMPV, RSV and others in the country, the IDSP said.

The HMPV test can be done at the state's lone Zoram Medical College (ZMC), it said.

The IDSP emphasised that there was no need to panic, as the health department and surveillance network are diligently monitoring the situation.

All state-run hospitals and private medical facilities are instructed to give daily reports on all ILI and SARI-related cases, it said.

Besides, Social Awareness and Action Plan to Neutralise Pneumonia (SAANS) campaign is currently being launched across the state, it said.

The health department also urged the general public to report any suspected cases of ILI and SARI to the nearest hospitals and sub-centres.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)