HMPV - Blood Cancer

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Hi, my mother was diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia last year, she is taking chemo tablets to stabilise her platelets. 
my brother has tested positive for HMPV and is currently in hospital, she spent the day with him on Saturday. 
I have suggested she contact the doctors but is reluctant to do so, as she doesn’t feel unwell! However she had a chest infection over Xmas resulting in her taking antibiotics. 
her platelets are still not in the required range even after a year of medication! 
So, should I be pushing her to contact doctors? Will they want to test her for the HMPV? Should she be taking this with more caution? 

please advise so I can then show her the advice provided from professionals 

many thanks 

  • Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to the online community. My name is

    Joanne and I’m one of the Macmillan cancer information nurses.

    I’m sorry to hear that your brother is in hospital, and I hope that he is recovering well.

    As nurses on the support line, we don’t have access to individual healthcare records and would always advise caution when somebody is having chemotherapy treatment.

    It might be helpful to talk through this information on infection during or after cancer treatment with your mum.

    You are right to encourage your mum to let her team know that she has recently had close contact with somebody who has hMPV (Human metapneumovirus) infection . This type of infection is common at this time of year and is a mild infection for most people.

    However, it can lead to more significant respiratory infections for others and as your mum is potentially immunocompromised due to her treatment it’s important that she seeks the advice of her team so that they can continue to monitor her and will advise her on testing if required.

    If your mum has access to a 24-hour chemotherapy helpline, she should phone them now. If she does not have a helpline number, she should contact her GP or NHS111 for advice.

    If your mum develops any cold or flu symptoms it is essential that she seeks urgent medical assessment from any of these services or A&E/999 as required.

    I hope this information is useful today. Please do let us know if there is anything else that we can advise you on.

    Ref JH/KE

    Joanne H - Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

    Remember you can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or by email.