Abstract:
Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a respiratory viral pathogen that is associated
with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) in very young children, elderly
persons, and immunocompromised patients. Two subtypes of hMPV exist (A and B)
which are further divided into subgroups (A1 and A2, and B1 and B2). South Africa
is the only African country where hMPV has been isolated and studied Important
questions remain on the contribution of hMPV to ARTIs in Kenya .This study aimed
at to detect and study the molecular characterization of hMPV from children with
ARTI at KNH, in 2008. One hundred and fifty archived nasopharyngeal aspirates
from hospitalized children below 5 years with ARTI at Kenyatta National Hospital in
2008 were used. The samples were cultured on LLC-MK2 cells and viral RNA
extracted from CPE positive cells. Conventional PCR and sequencing was done for F
and G genes. Phylogenetic analysis of the F gene was done by neighbor-joining
algorithm using MEGA version (5.02). Of the 150 samples, 7 (4.67%) were PCR
positive for both F and G gene proteins. Pylogenetic analysis of the F gene showed
that two subtypes; A2b and B2 were in circulation. Subtype A2 accounted for 83.3 %
of the isolates. All the Kenyan isolates were closely related to the Chinese isolates
suggesting that they had a common origin. The detection of hMPV suggests its
involvement in pediatric pneumonia in Kenya The presence of two subtypes (A2 and
B2) during the same epidemic period (2008) might suggest that the epidemic was
shifting to favor either A2 or B2 strains in the subsequent seasons
