Antibiotics not needed for HMPV: Former AIIMS Director

There is no role of antibiotics in treating the HMPV, a respiratory illness currently witnessing a surge in China and logging a few cases in India, said former AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria, on Tuesday.

Guleria said the virus causes only mild infection. He advised people to regularly wash hands, cover their mouths while coughing or sneezing, and stay hydrated and and eat nutritious food. "There is no specific antiviral drug which should be taken. There is no role for antibiotics because it is a viral infection," he added.

Guleria said that HMPV is not novel but an old virus. “It has been there for some time. Viruses usually cause mild illness, but in extremes of age, in infants and young children and the elderly or those with comorbidities, it can cause pneumonia, which can lead to breathing issues, as well as hospitalisation," he said, stressing the virus was self-limiting.

“Take medicine for fever, keep hydrated, and have good nutrition. Treatment is mainly symptomatic. The need is to maintain good hydration, paracetamol or any medication to decrease the fever and body aches. And if you have cough and cold, an anti-allergic can be taken to decrease your allergic symptoms," Guleria said.