title: Human metapneumovirus detection in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome.
abstract: We used a combination approach of conventional virus isolation and molecular techniques to detect human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Of the 48 study patients, 25 (52.1%) were infected with HMPV; 6 of these 25 patients were also infected with coronavirus, and another 5 patients (10.4%) were infected with coronavirus alone. Using this combination approach, we found that human laryngeal carcinoma (HEp-2) cells were superior to rhesus monkey kidney (LLC-MK2) cells commonly used in previous studies for isolation of HMPV. These widely available HEp-2 cells should be included in conjunction with a molecular method for cell culture followup to detect HMPV, particularly in patients with SARS.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology*; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D029121:Metapneumovirus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral