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Review
. 2010 Mar;30(1):131-48.
doi: 10.1016/j.cll.2009.10.002.

Human metapneumovirus

Christina R Hermos  1 , Sara O Vargas, Alexander J McAdam
Affiliations
Review

Human metapneumovirus

Christina R Hermos et al. Clin Lab Med. 2010 Mar.

Abstract

Respiratory tract infections (RTI) are the leading cause of death in low-income countries and the second leading cause of death worldwide in children less than 5 years old. Most RTI are viral. Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) was discovered in 2001 in routine viral cultures of respiratory specimens from children with RTI and has been implicated as a common cause of RTI in children and adults and a cause of severe disease in immunocompromised hosts. This article describes the microbiology, epidemiology, clinical presentation, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, long-term outcome, immunity and reinfection of hMPV.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Electron micrograph of hMPV grown in rhesus monkey kidney cells. The nucleocapsid is ruptured and the virion is spilling out. Note the pleomorphic viral shape and the envelope projections.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The seasonality of hMPV, influenza viruses, and RSV infections in Boston, MA, USA. Each curve shows the percentage of patients with the indicated virus during the indicated 4-week period.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
CXR from a 6-month-old child with bronchiolitis caused by hMPV. Hyperinflation and diffuse infiltrates are seen.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Hematoxylin and eosin-stained BAL specimen from a 14-year-old girl who underwent lung transplantation, showing (A) a glassy red cytoplasmic inclusion within a ciliated respiratory epithelial cell with a degenerating (pyknotic) nucleus (arrowhead) and (B) a glassy pink inclusion within a ciliated respiratory epithelial cell without a visible nucleus. Original magnification, ×1000.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Histologic section of lung tissue from a congenitally immunodeficient 15-month-old infant dying with culture-positive hMPV pneumonia. A giant cell (center) shows round smudgy pale pink intranuclear inclusions with a surrounding halo and globular dark pink intracytoplasmic inclusions (hemotoxylin and eosin; original magnification, ×400).
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Cytopathic effect of hMPV in rhesus monkey kidney (LLC-MK2) cells. Early cytopathic effect (I) shows a single focus of infected cells with refractile rounding is indicated by an arrow whereas late cytopathic effect (B) shows a larger focus and also shows detachment of cells from the monolayer. Original magnification ×100.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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