Human Metapneumovirus and Community-Acquired Respiratory Illness in Children

To the Editor: Stockton et al. have reported the detection of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) by using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in patients with influenzalike illness (1). These authors examined specimens submitted from patients, mainly adults, during winter 2000-01 and identified HMPV in 2.2% of patients with influenzalike illness who had tested negative for influenza virus and human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV). Although several papers have been published on HMPV infection in children (2-4), the real impact of this virus on the health of the pediatric population remains to be determined. The data we obtained in the present study support the epidemiologic findings of J. Stockton et al. (1) and reinforce the notion that HMPV is a human pathogen associated with community-acquired acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI).