Case Report
Bone Marrow Transplantation (2003) 31, 309–310. doi:10.1038/sj.bmt.1703849
Human metapneumovirus in a haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipient with fatal lower respiratory tract disease
P A Cane1, B G van den Hoogen2, S Chakrabarti3,4, C D Fegan4 and A D M E Osterhaus2
- 1Division of Immunity & Infection, University of Birmingham Medical School, Birmingham, UK
- 2Department of Virology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- 3Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Bristol Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Bristol, UK
- 4Department of Haematology, Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham, UK
Correspondence: Dr S Chakrabarti, Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Bristol Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Bristol BS2 8BJ, UK
Received 12 June 2002; Accepted 9 September 2002.
Abstract
Respiratory viruses are increasingly recognized as a cause of pneumonitis following haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). However, frequently, no pathogen is identified in cases of suspected viral pneumonia. Recently, a previously undescribed paramyxovirus, designated 'human metapneumovirus' (hMPV), was isolated from children with respiratory illness. We have detected hMPV as the sole pathogen in the nasopharyngeal aspirate of an HSCT recipient who succumbed to progressive respiratory failure following an upper respiratory prodrome. This report highlights the importance of further studies to elucidate the role of hMPV in causing respiratory illnesses in the HSCT population.
Keywords:
human metapneumovirus, stem cell transplant
