Much Ado About A Nothing HMP Virus?

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), discovered in 2001, most commonly causing upper and lower respiratory tract infections in young children, and also a concern for elderly people and immune-compromised patients, has purportedly emerged as a seemingly new threat in some parts of the world, particularly China and India.

- Dr Manbeena Chawla

Being termed as a winter bug, HMPV is commonly associated with acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) which is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Studies have revealed that HMPV is distributed worldwide and has a seasonal distribution comparable to that of influenza viruses and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). It tends to strike in the late winter and early spring. In young children, HMPV is the second most common cause of lower RTI after RSV, with children less than one year of age showing the highest rates of infection.

Although first identified in 2001, serological evidence has indicated its presence in human populations since the 1950s. HMPV is a lipidenveloped single-stranded, negative-sense nonsegmented RNA, with serotypes A and B identified based on the nucleotide sequence diversity of the fusion (F) and attachment (G) proteins.