Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Jan;14(1):101-6.
doi: 10.3201/eid1401.070251.

Human metapneumovirus infections in children

Terho Heikkinen  1 , Riikka Osterback, Ville Peltola, Tuomas Jartti, Raija Vainionpää
Affiliations

Human metapneumovirus infections in children

Terho Heikkinen et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2008 Jan.

Abstract

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is an important cause of lower respiratory tract infections in hospitalized children, but the age-related incidence and effect of hMPV in unselected children in the community have not been evaluated. We studied a cohort of 1,338 children <13 years of age throughout 1 respiratory season in Finland during 2000-2001. We examined children and obtained a nasal swab for viral detection at any sign of respiratory infection. hMPV was detected in 47 (3.5%) of the 1,338 children. The age-related incidence of hMPV infection was highest (7.6%) in children <2 years of age, in whom hMPV accounted for 1.7% of all infections during the season. During the epidemic peak, hMPV caused 7.1% of all respiratory infections in the cohort. Acute otitis media developed in 61% of hMPV-infected children <3 years of age. Our findings demonstrate that the effect of hMPV in the community is greatest in children <2 years of age.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of children with human metapneumovirus infections during each week of the study period, Finland, 2000–2001.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Weekly proportions of human metapneumovirus infections among all respiratory infections in the study children, Finland, 2000–2001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. van den Hoogen BG, de Jong JC, Groen J, Kuiken T, de Groot R, Fouchier RAM, et al. A newly discovered human pneumovirus isolated from young children with respiratory tract disease. Nat Med. 2001;7:719–24. 10.1038/89098 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Boivin G, Abed Y, Pelletier G, Ruel L, Moisan D, Cote S, et al. Virological features and clinical manifestations associated with human metapneumovirus: a new paramyxovirus responsible for acute respiratory-tract infections in all age groups. J Infect Dis. 2002;186:1330–4. 10.1086/344319 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sloots TP, Mackay IM, Bialasiewicz S, Jacob KC, McQueen E, Harnett GB, et al. Human metapneumovirus, Australia, 2001–2004. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12:1263–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jartti T, van den Hoogen B, Garofalo RP, Osterhaus AD, Ruuskanen O. Metapneumovirus and acute wheezing in children. Lancet. 2002;360:1393–4. 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11391-2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Esper F, Boucher D, Weibel C, Martinello RA, Kahn JS. Human metapneumovirus infection in the United States: clinical manifestations associated with a newly emerging respiratory infection in children. Pediatrics. 2003;111:1407–10. 10.1542/peds.111.6.1407 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources