B1 subgenotype of human metapneumovirus detected in children with acute respiratory infection

Abstract

Objective To reveal the prevalence of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) among pediatric patients with acute respiratory infection (ARI). Methods Nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from hospitalized young children (1-5 years) diagnosed as ARI in Department of Respiratory Disease, Shanxi Provincial Children′s Hospital, Taiyuan city. The nucleoprotein (N) gene of HMPV was amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The positive products of PCR were sequenced, made homology and phylogenetic analysis. Results One sample collected in Feb. 2017 and two samples collected in Nov. 2017 were HMPV positive in RT-PCR detection. The homologies of nucleic acid and deduced amino acid sequences of the three positive PCR products with the corresponding HMPV sequences in GenBank were over 83% and 90%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that HMPV B1 subgenotype was detected. Conclusions HMPV B1 subgenotype was the major epidemic HMPV in young children with ARI in Taiyuan city. Key words: Human metapneumovirus; Nucleoprotein; Children; Acute respiratory infection