An outbreak of severe respiratory tract infection due to human metapneumovirus in a long-term care facility for the elderly in Oregon

Abstract

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) was demonstrated to be responsible for an outbreak of acute respiratory tract infection with high morbidity and mortality among residents of a long-term care facility for the elderly during the late spring–summer in Oregon. Respiratory virus infections are a common cause of death in the elderly and the burden of human metapneumovirus may be underestimated. This case report stresses the importance of hMPV in causing outbreaks in long-term care facilities for the elderly. Cough and elevated temperature were common to all the resident patient cases. Six resident patient cases had hMPV laboratory confirmation of which 5 had the diagnosis of pneumonia and 4 were hospitalized. The fatality rate was 33.3% among laboratory confirmed cases and 31.3.0% among probable resident patient cases. The signs and symptoms observed in the elderly with acute respiratory infection caused by hMPV are difficult to distinguish from those associated with other respiratory viruses and direct testing for hMPV with molecular methods should be routinely pursued to prevent nosocomial infections.