Abstract

RODRIGUES, Orlando da Gama  and  CARVALHO, Werther Brunow de. Detection of human metapneumovirus in children with acute respiratory infections treated at a hospital of emergency in Belém, Pará State, Brazil. Rev Pan-Amaz Saude [online]. 2015, vol.6, n.4, pp.25-33. ISSN 2176-6215.

OBJECTIVE: Performing clinical and human metapneumovirus detection (hMPV) of children under 5 years old suffering from acute respiratory infections (ARI), with free demand or referenced to an emergency care hospital in Belém, Pará State, Brazil. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective longitudinal study (from March 2008 to February 2009) evaluated 67 samples of nasopharyngeal secretions of 67 patients with ARI - 29.9% with upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) and 70.1% with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) and URTI - by using real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay. RESULTS: In the cohort of n = 67 children studied, 13 positive cases were detected (19.4%) for hMPV. There was a higher percentage of samples (61.5%) in those with URTI associated with LRTI, compared to those with URTI (38.5%). CONCLUSION: It was observed that hMPV is a prevalent etiological agent in 19.4% of children with ARI, however the clinical symptoms evaluated do not occur exclusively in association with hMPV.

Keywords : Metapneumovirus; Respiratory Tract Infections; Child Health.

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