Qingdao Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao, Shandong, People's Republic of China.
National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
J Med Virol. 2022 Sep;94(9):4301-4308. doi: 10.1002/jmv.27888. Epub 2022 Jun 22.
Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) plays an important role in acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs), especially in children. We investigated the epidemiology of HMPV associated with ARTIs among pediatric inpatients and identified HMPV genetic variations in Qingdao, China, from January 2018 to June 2019. HMPV-positive samples were identified from throat swabs by multiplex real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The G gene sequences of HMPV were obtained, followed by phylogenetic analysis. As a result, 71 out of 1051 (6.76%) patients were HMPV positive, and the HMPV-positive rate in children under 5 years of age was three times higher than that in those aged 5-17 years. The epidemic season of HMPV was in spring, with a peak mainly in March. Thirty-two nucleotide sequences of the HMPV G gene successfully obtained were clustered into three genotypes, A2c (25/32, 78.13%), B1 (3/32, 9.38%) and B2 (4/32, 12.50%). In addition, 76% (19/25) of A2c viruses were identified as the emerging A2c variants, which were predominantly circulating among pediatric inpatients with ARTIs between January 2018 and June 2019 in Qingdao. The emerging A2c variants have spread between countries and cities and might spread more widely in the future. Further prevalence monitoring of this duplication variant is needed to clarify the potentially expanding transmission and to provide a scientific basis for disease control and vaccine development.
人偏肺病毒（HMPV）在急性呼吸道感染（ARTI）中起重要作用，尤其在儿童中。我们调查了 2018 年 1 月至 2019 年 6 月青岛住院儿童中与 ARTI 相关的 HMPV 流行病学，并鉴定了 HMPV 基因变异。通过多重实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）从咽拭子中鉴定 HMPV 阳性样本。获得 HMPV 的 G 基因序列，随后进行系统进化分析。结果，1051 例患者中有 71 例（6.76%）为 HMPV 阳性，5 岁以下儿童的 HMPV 阳性率是 5-17 岁儿童的 3 倍。HMPV 的流行季节为春季，主要高峰在 3 月。成功获得的 32 个 HMPV G 基因核苷酸序列聚为 3 个基因型，A2c（25/32，78.13%）、B1（3/32，9.38%）和 B2（4/32，12.50%）。此外，76%（19/25）的 A2c 病毒被鉴定为新兴的 A2c 变异株，该变异株主要在 2018 年 1 月至 2019 年 6 月青岛住院的 ART 患儿中流行。新兴的 A2c 变异株在国家和城市间传播，并可能在未来更广泛传播。需要进一步监测这种复制变异株的流行情况，以明确其潜在传播范围扩大的情况，并为疾病控制和疫苗开发提供科学依据。
