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New Virus Causing Respiratory Illness
June 2, 2003 - A newly discovered virus called human metapneumovirus (hMPV) may be responsible for many previously unexplained cases of respiratory illness in infants and children. A new study shows human metapneumovirus is already circulating in the U.S. and may be a major cause of influenza, pneumonia, and other respiratory illnesses and infections that can often prove deadly among young children.
In the study, researchers screened a group of 296 children under age 5 in New England who suffered from respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, and wheezing and found evidence of human metapneumovirus in 6.4% of the children.
Their findings appear in the June issue of Pediatrics.
Dutch researchers first identified human metapneumovirus as a major cause of respiratory illness among children in the Netherlands, and it has since been found in the U.K. and Canada. But until now it was unknown whether human metapneumovirus was circulating in the U.S.
Researchers say a common childhood infection known as RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and influenza account for most cases of pneumonia and bronchiolitis in children. But the exact cause of these types of respiratory illnesses is often unknown, which suggests that previously unknown or unidentified viruses like human metapneumovirus may be at work.
"Influenza, influenza-like illnesses, and pneumonia are the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States," write researcher Frank Esper, MD, and colleagues of Yale University Medical School. "However, the cause of nearly half of the cases of community-acquired pneumonia remains undetermined."
Researchers say the symptoms of hMPV-induced respiratory illness are similar to those associated with RSV, such as cough and wheezing, and premature infants may be especially prone to human metapneumovirus infection, as with RSV.
They say more study is needed to determine how prevalent human metapneumovirus is in other areas of the country and to develop a diagnostic test for the virus.
According to the World Health Organization, respiratory illness and disease is the second-leading cause of death worldwide in children under 5 years old.
SOURCE: Pediatrics, June 2003.
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