Respiratory infections are the leading cause of death for children around the world and the No. When the researchers tested blood samples from 72 patients that had been stored since 1958, all showed evidence of exposure to the mystery virus, indicating that it had been circulating in humans, undetected, for at least the previous half-century. Scientists believe it probably jumped from birds to humans at some point and evolved from there. The new virus was dubbed human metapneumovirus. They saw something that seemed structurally related to the paramyxoviridae family, a group of viruses known to give people respiratory disease like measles, mumps and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.Ī closer look at the virus’ genes showed a close relative: avian metapneumovirus, which infects birds. The researchers cultured the samples in various types of cells from monkeys, chickens and dogs, and then they looked at the cultures under an electron microscope. Some of the children had been very ill and required mechanical ventilation, but they didn’t test positive for any known pathogens. They had 28 samples from children in the Netherlands with unexplained respiratory infections. Human metapneumovirus was discovered by Dutch virus hunters in 2001. “I was like, ‘what?’ Because it sounds really dire,” Davison said. Her doctor wasn’t satisfied, however, and sent her to an emergency room for more testing. Blood tests determined that she had HMPV. Concerned about pneumonia, she got a X-ray from a radiology clinic near her home and was told it was clear.
But she took six rapid tests for Covid-19, and all came back negative.ĭavison is immunocompromised, so she has been cautious throughout the pandemic. Her cough was so constant and deep, she was convinced she had finally caught the coronavirus after managing to avoid it throughout the pandemic.
“I would go into violent, violent coughing to the point where I was literally almost throwing up.” “I couldn’t get out more than a couple of words,” said Davison, 59, an entertainment lawyer in Baltimore. BSIP/Universal Images Group/Getty Imagesĭoctors watching for more cases after mysterious cluster of brain infections strikes kids in southern Nevada Last year, the number of brain abscesses in children in and around Las Vegas, Nevada, rose from the expected four or five to 17. Two weeks later, she was coughing so violently, she couldn’t talk on the phone. Like those infections, HMPV can lead to intensive care and fatal cases of pneumonia in older adults.ĭiane Davison caught human metapneumovirus during a family celebration in early April. A study in New York conducted over four winters found that it was as common in hospitalized seniors as RSV and the flu. One study of patient samples collected over 25 years found that it was the second most common cause of respiratory infections in kids behind RSV. Studies show that HMPV causes as much misery in the US each year as the flu and a closely related virus, RSV. Instead, doctors care for seriously ill people by tending to their symptoms. Unlike Covid-19 and the flu, there’s no vaccine for HMPV or antiviral drugs to treat it. Sick people aren’t usually tested for it outside of a hospital or ER.
Most people who caught it probably didn’t even know they had it, however. At its peak in mid-March, nearly 11% of tested specimens were positive for HMPV, a number that’s about 36% higher than the average, pre-pandemic seasonal peak of 7% test positivity. It filled hospital intensive care units with young children and seniors who are the most vulnerable to these infections. But just as it was winding down, a little-known virus that causes many of the same symptoms – a lower lung infection, hacking cough, runny nose, sore throat and fever – was just picking up steam.Ĭases of human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, spiked this spring, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s respiratory virus surveillance systems. The past winter was a heavy one for respiratory viruses, dominated by surges of RSV, influenza and Covid-19.
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