Detection of human metapneumovirus antigens in nasopharyngeal secretions by an immunofluorescent-antibody test.
Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a recently discovered pathogen associated with respiratory tract infections, primarily in young children, immunocompromised individuals, and elderly individuals. Reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) has been reported to be a more sensitive method for the diagnosis of hMPV infections than virus isolation by culture and serological study. However, there has been no report on rapid methods, such as an immunofluorescent-antibody test or an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, for the detection of hMPV antigens in nasopharyngeal secretions. In this study, we compared an indirect immunofluorescent-antibody test (IFA) with a monoclonal antibody with RT-PCR for detection of hMPV in nasal secretions from 48 hospitalized children with respiratory tract infections. Fifteen of the 48 children were positive for hMPV by RT-PCR. IFA results were positive for 11 of the 15 RT-PCR-positive children (sensitivity, 73.3%) and 1 of the 33 RT-PCR-negative children (specificity, 97.0%). Although the sensitivity of IFA is lower than that of RT-PCR, IFA is a rapid and useful test for the diagnosis of hMPV infections in children.
Ebihara
Takashi
T
Department of Pediatrics, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, N-15, W-7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan.
Endo
Rika
R
Ma
Xiaoming
X
Ishiguro
Nobuhisa
N
Kikuta
Hideaki
H
D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D029121:Metapneumovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000821:virology*; D018184:Paramyxoviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D000956:Antigens, Viral