title: Virological features and clinical manifestations associated with human metapneumovirus: a new paramyxovirus responsible for acute respiratory-tract infections in all age groups.
abstract: The virological features and clinical findings associated with the new human metapneumovirus (HMPV) were examined retrospectively in Canadian patients hospitalized for various respiratory conditions since 1993. Thirty-eight previously unidentified respiratory viruses isolated from rhesus monkey kindey (LLC-MK2) cells were found to be positive for HMPV by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, and those strains clustered in 2 phylogenetic groups. Children aged <5 years and elderly subjects aged >65 years represented 35.1% and 45.9% of the HMPV-infected cases, respectively. In hospitalized children, the most frequent diagnoses were pneumonitis (66.7%) and bronchiolitis (58.3%), whereas bronchitis and/or bronchospasm (60%) and pneumonitis (40%) were most commonly seen in elderly subjects. Of the 15 patients with pneumonitis, 4 (26.7%) had immunosuppressive conditions and 6 (40%) were infants aged <15 months. These findings suggest that HMPV can be associated with severe lower-respiratory-tract infections in very young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients.
authors.affiliation: Research Center in Infectious Diseases, Regional Virology Laboratory, Laval University, Quebec City, Canada. Guy.Boivin@crchul.ulaval.ca
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Boivin
authors.forename: Yacine
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abed
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pelletier
authors.forename: Louisette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruel
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moisan
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Côté
authors.forename: Teresa C T
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Peret
authors.forename: Dean D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Erdman
authors.forename: Larry J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D017677:Age Distribution; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D017931:DNA Primers; D006801:Humans; D029121:Metapneumovirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D018184:Paramyxoviridae Infections / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000821:virology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers