Abstract
BackgroundAcute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) causes high amounts of morbidity and mortality worldwide every year. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a major pathogen of ARTIs in children. In this study, we aimed to investigate the epidemiology and genotypic diversity of HMPV in children hospitalized with ARTIs in Beijing, China.MethodsHospitalized children aged < 14 years with ARTIs were enrolled from April 2017 to March 2018; nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected and subjected to real-time polymerase chain reaction tests for HMPV. HMPV-positive samples were genotyped based on a partial N gene. Whole genome sequences were determined for samples with high viral loads.Results4.08% (52/1276) enrolled paediatric patients were identified as having HMPV infection. The epidemic season is winter and early spring, children aged ≤ 4 years were more susceptible to HMPV infection (47/52, 90.38%). The co-infection rate were 36.54% (19/52), the most common co-infected virus were influenza and respiratory syncytial virus. The main diagnoses of HMPV infection were pneumonia (29/52, 55.77%) and bronchitis (23/52, 44.23%), while the main clinical manifestations were cough, fever, rhinorrhoea, and sneeze. Among 48 HMPV-positive specimens, A2b (19/48, 39.58%) and B1 (26/48, 54.17%) were the main epidemic subtypes. Patients with HMPV genotype A infection had a higher viral load compared to genotype B patients (6.07 vs. 5.37 log10 RNA copies/ml). Five complete sequences of HMPV were obtained. This is the first report of a whole genome sequence of HMPV-B1 isolated in China.ConclusionsHMPV is an important respiratory pathogen in paediatric patients. Cases of HMPV infection could burden hospitals in the epidemic season. HMPV viral loads and genotypes have no correlation with co-infection or clinical characteristics.
Highlights
Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) causes high amounts of morbidity and mortality worldwide every year
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Epidemiology of Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) A total of 1276 hospitalized children with ARTIs were enrolled between April 2017 and March 2018; 4.1% (52/1276) of their samples were positive for HMPV
Summary
Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) causes high amounts of morbidity and mortality worldwide every year. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a major pathogen of ARTIs in children. We aimed to investigate the epidemiology and genotypic diversity of HMPV in children hospitalized with ARTIs in Beijing, China. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is an enveloped, nonsegmented virus, with a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA genome, classified in the Metapneumovirus genus within the family Pneumovirinae. Since HMPV was first detected in 2001 [1], it has been determined to be one of the most common pathogens of acute respiratory tract. HMPV can cause both upper and lower respiratory tract infection (URTI and LRTI). The HMPV genome is about 13 Kb in length and is composed of eight genes encoding nine proteins: 3′-N, P, M, F, M2-1/M2-2, SH, G, L-5′. The correlation between HMPV genotypes and the severity of illness remains unclear
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