title: Metapneumovirus and acute wheezing in children.
abstract: A new respiratory virus, human metapneumovirus, was recently identified. We detected this virus by PCR in ten (8%) of 132 consecutive children admitted to Turku Hospital, Finland, for acute expiratory wheezing (median age 7 months, range 4-25). The mean duration of hospital stay was 2.5 days (SD 1.6) and mean duration of respiratory symptoms was 19 days (8). The white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, and regulated upon activation, normal T-cell-expressed and T-cell-secreted (RANTES) concentrations in nasal secretion remained low, whereas interleukin 8 concentrations in nasal secretion were high. Human metapneumovirus is a clinically important causative agent of acute wheezing in young children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Turku University Hospital, PL 52, 20521, Turku, Finland. tuomas.jartti@tyks.fi
authors.forename: Tuomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jartti
authors.forename: Bernadette
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: van den Hoogen
authors.forename: Roberto P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Garofalo
authors.forename: Albert D M E
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Osterhaus
authors.forename: Olli
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ruuskanen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay; D029121:Metapneumovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018184:Paramyxoviridae Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000821:virology; D011897:Random Allocation; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction