Metapneumovirus and acute wheezing in children.
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.
Jartti
Tuomas
T
Department of Paediatrics, Turku University Hospital, PL 52, 20521, Turku, Finland. tuomas.jartti@tyks.fi
van den Hoogen
Bernadette
B
Garofalo
Roberto P
RP
Osterhaus
Albert D M E
AD
Ruuskanen
Olli
O
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