Del Valle-Mendoza Juana, Orellana-Peralta Fiorella, Del Valle Luis J, Verne Eduardo, Ugarte Claudia, Weilg Claudia, Silva-Caso Wilmer, Valverde-Ezeta Jorge, Carrillo-Ng Hugo, Peña-Tuesta Isaac, Palomares-Reyes Carlos, Cornejo-Tapia Angela, Aguilar-Luis Miguel Angel
School of Medicine, Research and Innovation Centre of the Faculty of Health Sciences., Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru.
Laboratorio de Biologia Molecular, Instituto de Investigación Nutricional (IIN), Lima, Peru.
PeerJ. 2019 Jul 25;7:e7266. doi: 10.7717/peerj.7266. eCollection 2019.
Human Metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a negative single-stranded RNA virus. Infection by hMPV mainly affects the pediatric population and can cause upper or lower respiratory tract pathologies which can develop life threating complications. This study was carried out between 2009 and 2010 in a high complexity national hospital in Lima, Peru. The time frame corresponds to the pandemic of influenza A H1N1.
A prospective study was performed between September 2009 and September 2010. Patients with a clinical diagnosis suggestive of an acute respiratory infection were included. RT-PCR was utilized to attain the amplification and identification of the hMPV.
A total of 539 samples were analyzed from patients with a clinical context suggestive of an acute respiratory tract infection. Of these samples 73, (13.54%) were positive for hMPV. Out of the positive cases, 63% were under one year old, and increased to nearly 80% when considering children younger than two years old. Cough was the most frequent symptom presented by our population with a number of 62 cases (84.93%). Viral seasonality was also established, noting its predominance during the months of summer in the southern hemisphere. The infection by hMPV has an important prevalence in Peru. It mainly affects children under one year old and should be considered an important differential diagnosis in a patient with an acute respiratory infection.
人偏肺病毒（hMPV）是一种负链单股RNA病毒。hMPV感染主要影响儿童群体，可导致上呼吸道或下呼吸道病变，进而引发危及生命的并发症。本研究于2009年至2010年在秘鲁利马一家高复杂性的国立医院开展。该时间段正值甲型H1N1流感大流行。
于2009年9月至2010年9月进行了一项前瞻性研究。纳入临床诊断提示急性呼吸道感染的患者。采用逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）对hMPV进行扩增和鉴定。
共分析了539份临床提示急性呼吸道感染患者的样本。其中73份（13.54%）hMPV检测呈阳性。在阳性病例中，63%为一岁以下儿童，若考虑两岁以下儿童，这一比例增至近80%。咳嗽是最常见的症状，有62例（84.93%）。还确定了病毒季节性，注意到其在南半球夏季月份占主导地位。hMPV感染在秘鲁具有重要的流行率。它主要影响一岁以下儿童，在急性呼吸道感染患者中应被视为重要的鉴别诊断。
