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The disease burden of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infection in children remains largely undefined. To address this gap, investigators conducted a population-based study among all young children (age, <5 years) who were hospitalized with acute respiratory illness at one of two U.S. medical centers during a 2-year period. Nasal and throat specimens were collected for molecular analysis of a variety of respiratory viruses.
Of the 1104 children studied, 42 (3.8%) had HMPV infection, for an annual incidence rate of 1.2 cases per 1000 hospitalized young children (95% confidence interval, 0.9–1.6). This rate was similar to the rates of influenza virus and parainfluenza virus-3 but was lower than the rate of respiratory syncytial virus. The highest…