Detection of all four human metapneumovirus subtypes in nasopharyngeal specimens from children with respiratory disease in Uberlândia, Brazil

Abstract

The human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a pathogen of the respiratory tract identified first in the Netherlands in 2001 and since then it has been detected worldwide. The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize hMPV in samples collected from children <5 years presenting with acute respiratory disease (ARD) seen at a public hospital in Uberlândia, in Southeastern Brazil. One hundred fourteen nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) samples that were negative for the presence of nine other respiratory viruses were tested by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the presence of hMPV RNA. Fourteen out of 114 (12.3%) samples were positive for presence of hMPV RNA. PCR products, obtained by the amplification of partial nucleotide sequence of gene N, were sequenced and compared with sequences deposited in GenBank. Sequences from eight samples were obtained and all four subtypes were identified. Also, the recently proposed sublineages "a" and "b" of subtype A2 were found; mean age was 21 months old; upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) was the most common clinical symptom; the virus was detected in samples collected from March to November, a period that corresponds to late summer to mid-spring in Brazil. This is the first study to describe the circulation of all hMPV subtypes in Minas Gerais state.

Antiviral activity of the green marine alga Ulva fasciata on the replication of human metapneumovirus

“…Brazil has already been demonstrated 3,5,8,31,35 . No vaccine or antiviral therapy is currently available for prevention or treatment of HMPV infection.…”

Human Metapneumovirus: Lessons Learned over the First Decade

“…For instance, while lineage A1 circulated extensively in humans from 1982 to 2003 (233, 253), it has rarely been detected since 2004. In numerous other studies, it has been shown that the predominant circulating strains may vary by year and that predominant strains may be replaced, on average, every 1 to 3 years (2,9,40,44,70,118,140,146,152,154,166,177,185,188,242).…”

Human rhinovirus in the lower respiratory tract infections of young children and the possible involvement of a secondary respiratory viral agent

“…Briefly, RSV A and B and FLU A and B were detected using multiplex two-step PCR reactions with previously described primers and conditions (Stockton et al 1998). Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) was detected using a protocol that was previously described by our group (Carneiro et al 2009). Finally, PIV 1-3 were detected using the primers and conditions published by Echevarría et al (1998).…”

“…RSV A and B and FLU A and B (Stockton et al 1998) were the first viruses tested for, followed by hMPV (Carneiro et al 2009) and PIV 1-3 (Echevarría et al 1998). This order was chosen according to clinical relevance of co-infections in children as determined by the literature (Aberle et al 2005, Calvo et al 2008, Cilla et al 2008) and because of the circulation rate of the most common viruses in the region (Costa et al 2006).…”