Human Metapneumovirus-Associated Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Korean Infants and Young Children

To define the role of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) in previously healthy Korean children, a retrospective study was done on 166 children with lower respiratory tract infections and on their stored nasal aspirates. The hMPV gene was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Twenty-six of 166 individuals tested positive for hMPV. The clinical diagnoses of hMPV infection were pneumonia in 15 children and bronchiolitis in 11 children.