• Vincent Foulongne, Catherine Lechiche, Jacques Reynes, and Michel Segondy.
• Laboratoire de virologie, Groupe Hospitalier Saint-Eloi-Gui de Chauliac, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Montpellier.
• Presse Med. 2004 Sep 11; 33 (15): 100610071006-7.

IntroductionHuman metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a newly identified virus responsible for occasionally severe respiratory infections, mainly observed in children.ObservationA 59-year old man was hospitalised for respiratory problems and fever 3 days after his return from China during the epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Other than fever (>38 degrees C), the patient exhibited a dry cough, myalgias, arthralgias and mild lymphopenia and the chest radiography showed an opacity on the right lower lung. Conventional virological investigations remained negative. Detection of the novel SARS-associated coronavirus was negative but hMPV detection was positive.DiscussionThe present observation indicates that hMPV may cause respiratory symptoms mimicking initial manifestations of SARS in adults visiting epidemic countries.ConclusionhMPV testing has clinical utility in adult patients with acute respiratory tract infection.

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