Using a combination of virus isolation and molecular techniques, human metapneumovirus was detected in 52.1% (25 of 48) of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Cross-Sectional (n=48)
No
Does a combination approach using HEp-2 cells improve the detection of human metapneumovirus in patients with SARS compared to LLC-MK2 cells?
HEp-2 cells combined with molecular methods are superior to LLC-MK2 cells for detecting human metapneumovirus in SARS patients.
We used a combination approach of conventional virus isolation and molecular techniques to detect human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Of the 48 study patients, 25 (52.1%) were infected with HMPV; 6 of these 25 patients were also infected with coronavirus, and another 5 patients (10.4%) were infected with coronavirus alone. Using this combination approach, we found that human laryngeal carcinoma (HEp-2) cells were superior to rhesus monkey kidney (LLC-MK2) cells commonly used in previous studies for isolation of HMPV. These widely available HEp-2 cells should be included in conjunction with a molecular method for cell culture followup to detect HMPV, particularly in patients with SARS.
Chan et al. (Mon,) conducted a cross-sectional in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) (n=48). Combination of conventional virus isolation and molecular techniques was evaluated on Detection of human metapneumovirus (HMPV). Using a combination of virus isolation and molecular techniques, human metapneumovirus was detected in 52.1% (25 of 48) of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome.