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What is the Human Metapneumovirus?

By Cathy Crenshaw Doheny
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 19,515
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The human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is one of the most common viral pathogens responsible for respiratory illness. It belongs to a group of similar viruses that include respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and parainfluenza virus. Human metapneumovirus can range in severity from asymptomatic to acute. Though the virus can occur at any age, the populations most at risk are the very young, patients with compromised immune systems and the elderly. It often presents as severe wheezing in pediatric patients, but can also cause croup or pneumonia.

Human metapneumovirus was first identified in 2001 by researchers at Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands. Led by the chief of the Virology Department and professor of virology, Dr. Albert Osterhaus, the team of researchers found the pathogen in cultures from 28 children, hospitalized in Erasmus Medical Center at that time, with respiratory conditions of unknown causes. Other laboratories throughout the world have since confirmed the presence of human metapneumovirus. The widespread nature of the antibodies specific to hMPV, found in human blood samples from various laboratories, suggests that the viral pathogen has been a cause of respiratory infections in humans for over 50 years.

Human metapneumovirus most often causes upper respiratory symptoms, including nasal congestion, runny nose, cough, and sore throat. Flu-like symptoms, such as fever, body aches, and vomiting may also result from hMPV. Less common conditions associated with the virus include bronchiolitis, conjunctivitis, otitis media, diarrhea, and rash. Infection with the human metapneumovirus can exacerbate symptoms in patients with asthma, and may cause difficulty breathing and more severe respiratory illness in the very young, elderly or immuno-compromised patients. The virus may also be present with no clinical manifestations.

The human metapneumovirus is most often spread through direct or close contact with respiratory secretions from those who have been infected. The virus can also be spread through contact with objects contaminated with respiratory secretions from an infected person. Once exposed, the person may develop symptoms within three to five days. Reinfection with hMPV may occur, though symptoms tend to be milder after the initial infection. In the United States, hMPV occurs most often in the late winter and early spring.

Treatment of human metapneumovirus may include medications to minimize symptoms. Fever reducers, antihistamines, and treatments to improve breathing can be particularly helpful. The spread of hMPV may be prevented through proper and frequent hand-washing, covering the mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, and prompt disposal of the contaminated tissue.

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Discussion Comments
By edsel59 — On Jun 06, 2011

@babiesX3 - I'm not an expert in human virology by any stretch of the imagination, but if I had to guess I wouldn't think it was all one virus. I mean, people can get multiple colds just weeks apart, and each one be from a different strain of a related virus.

At the same time, I don't suppose it is totally impossible. More likely, however, is that your daughter's lungs were not fully recovered from her first incident and that's what made the RSV harder on her when she got it.

In any event, it says above that the metapneumo virus belongs to the same family as RSV and pneumonia both, so the fact that those two would have such similar symptoms is not surprising.

By babiesX3 — On Jun 04, 2011

After reading this, I'm wondering of the metapneumovirus infection can be misdiagnosed as common pneumonia.

The reason is because when my middle child was 5 weeks old, she became very ill and required hospitalization. The doctors diagnosed her with pneumonia.

Then, when she was 5 months old, she became ill again, but this time with RSV, requiring another hospital stay. Now granted, we know for sure she picked up the RSV at daycare, but since apparently hMPV and RSV are very closely related, is it possible that hMPV is the original virus she had and it went into overdrive when its relative came along?

I apologize for the somewhat rambling discourse, but now I'm curious as to whether or not she had the same virus all along and just never fully recovered from the first one, making her reaction to the second exposure more severe.

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