Human metapneumovirus infection in children hospitalized for wheezing

To the Editor: Recently, the prevalence of viral respiratory tract pathogens associated with acute wheezing exacerbations was reported in a study of infants and children admitted to the Children's Hospital at the University of Virginia.1 Subsequently, we analyzed the nasal washes from these children for human metapneumovirus (hMPV), a paramyxovirus closely related to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). hMPV has also been shown to be a significant cause of respiratory tract illnesses in young children.2-4 The study we previously reported from the University of Virginia was an observational, case-control study of 133 children (age 2 months to 18 years) hospitalized for wheezing between April 1, 2000, and March 31, 2001. [...]nucleic acids extracted from the samples had been tested previously by RT-PCR for rhinovirus, enterovirus, coronavirus, influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, and RSV, and by PCR for adenovirus.1 Metapneumovirus testing was performed by a real-time RT-PCR assay on a Smart Cycler (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, Calif) using primers and probe for the N gene5 with the Quantitect RT-PCR kit (Qiagen, Valencia, Calif).