title: Human metapneumovirus associated with community-acquired pneumonia in children in Beijing, China.
abstract: Community-acquired pneumonia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. However, few studies have been conducted on the infection of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) associated with pediatric community-acquired pneumonia in China. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected between July 2008 and June 2010 from 1,028 children, aged ≤16.5 years, who were diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia in Beijing, China. Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used to screen the samples for hMPV and common respiratory viruses. hMPV was detected in 6.3% of the patients with community-acquired pneumonia. This detection rate is the third highest for a respiratory virus in children with community-acquired pneumonia, after that of rhinovirus (30.9%) and respiratory syncytial virus (30.7%). The detection rate of hMPV in 2008/2009 (42/540, 7.8%) was significantly higher than in 2009/2010 (23/488, 4.7%; χ(2)  = 4.065, P = 0.044). The hMPV subtypes A2, B1, and B2 were found to co-circulate, with A2 being most prevalent. These results indicate that hMPV plays a substantial role in pediatric community-acquired pneumonia in China. Overall, these findings provide a better understanding of the epidemiological and clinical features of hMPV infections.
authors.affiliation: MOH Key Laboratory of Systems Pathogen Biology and Christophe Mérieux Laboratory, IPB, CAMS-Fondation Mérieux, Institute of Pathogen Biology (IPB), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Guilan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Jianguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhengde
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vernet
authors.forename: Kunling
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Jianwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D029121:Metapneumovirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000821:virology; D018184:Paramyxoviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D011024:Pneumonia, Viral / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D015995:Prevalence; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods