Human metapneumovirus in patients with respiratory tract infection

• Grant number: 06/00717-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Technical Training Program - Technical Training
• Start date: June 01, 2006
• End date: May 31, 2007
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Clarisse Martins Machado
• Grantee: Michela Gabriele Braga de Marqui
• Host Institution: Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo (IMT). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 05/01455-5 - Human metapneumovirus in patients with respiratory tract infection, AP.R

Abstract

Human metapneumovirus was first isolated in stored nasal aspirates from children with respiratory symptoms in the Netherlands by Van den Hoogen et al. (2001). Clinical findings were similar to those observed in children with RSV infection, ranging from mild symptoms such as fever, cough or coryza, to severe complications such as pneumonia or bronchiolitis. Since this preliminary report, other authors have investigated the occurrence of HMPV infections in children and similar studies have been developed in Australia, China, Italy, Israel, Great Britain, Germany and USA. HMPV can also cause infection in the elderly. Half of the patients evaluated in a Canadian study were older than 65 years. Fever, cough and dyspnea were reported frequently in these patients. In Brazil, few studies have evaluated the role of HMPV infection in children during primary care assistance. Moreover, anecdotal reports have reported the occurrence of HMPV infection in bone marrow transplant recipients but no study has systematically evaluated the frequency, seasonality or morbidity in this setting. Similarly, information on the occurrence of HMPV infection in ICU patients is lacking. To a better understanding of the clinical findings and frequency of HMPV infections in São Paulo, the Virology Laboratory of the IMTSP – USP standardized a PCR for the detection of HMPV, targeting the N gene region. The current project aims to implement the HMPV detection by real time PCR to better evaluate the impact of HMPV infection in these patient groups and to compare this technique to the in –house PCR. Taqman technology will be used in real time detection of HMPV, with primers and probes specifically designed for this assay (assay by design, Applied Biosystems).