Outbreak of Human Metapneumovirus in a Nursing Home: A Clinical Perspective.

OBJECTIVES: To describe a human metapneumovirus (hMPV) outbreak occurring in a nursing home for older adults and to identify the risk factors associated with the clinical infection. DESIGN: A retrospective, case-controlled study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A French nursing home for older adults between December 27, 2014 and January 20, 2015. Probable cases were residents presenting at least 1 respiratory symptom or 1 constitutional symptom. Confirmed cases identified in the same way as probable cases but with a positive RT-PCR test for hMPV. Controls were residents with no symptoms of respiratory infection. MEASURES: Identification of hMPV was realized on nasal swab samples by RT-PCR. RESULTS: Seventy-eight older people were resident at the time of the outbreak. Three of the 4 tested were positive for hMPV by RT-PCR and negative for 13 other viruses or bacteria. All probable infected residents presented cough; other symptoms were scarcer. An inflammatory response was present, with median C-reactive protein at 50 mg/L. The median duration of the illness was 7 days. The rate of infection among residents was high (51%), with 5 hospitalizations (12.5%) and 1 death (2.5%). In multivariate analysis, vaccination against influenza virus appeared to emerge as associated with a probable hMPV infection, but this might be an artifact, as the proportion of unvaccinated residents was low (15%). A clear infected population profile was hard to define, although limited autonomy and low ADL score may play a role. Basic hygiene precautions were reinforced, but droplet precautions seemed difficult to apply rigorously to this population. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Clinical and biological presentations were nonspecific. The rate of infection was high, highlighting the need for the rapid introduction of strict precautions to contain the infection.

Fatal case of acute gastroenteritis with multiple viral coinfections.

We report a fatal case of acute gastroenteritis in a child with autism spectrum disorder. Multiple viral coinfections were detected by PCR in the patient's stool and digestive biopsy specimens. As viral detection is not necessarily associated with symptomatic disease, a semi-quantitative approach using cycle treshold values was proposed for the clinical interpretation of PCR. We discuss whether concomitant viral infections could be a risk factor for severe outcome in gastroenteritis cases. Individual risk factors are also addressed.

Disseminated rhinovirus C8 infection with infectious virus in blood and fatal outcome in a child with repeated episodes of bronchiolitis.

We report a fatal case of acute lower respiratory tract disease with human rhinovirus C (HRV-C) as the unique cause in a 19-month-old girl with a history of repeated episodes of bronchiolitis. HRV-C type 8 nucleic acids were observed in respiratory, stool, and cerebrospinal fluid samples, and infectious virions were isolated from patient serum after inoculation onto reconstituted airway epithelia.

Mumps outbreak and laboratory diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Several mumps outbreaks have been reported in Europe and in the United States among highly vaccinated populations. Biological diagnosis is classically based on the detection of mumps-specific IgM, but the ability of serological tests to confirm mumps infection seems to be limited among vaccinated patients. OBJECTIVES: We aim to report a mumps outbreak in an engineering school in Grenoble, France, from February to June 2013 and results of the biological testing. STUDY DESIGN: WHO definitions were used to define cases. Mumps--specific IgM and IgG were assessed by a commercially available EIA. Mumps RNA detection by real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction tests (RT-PCR) and mumps genotyping were performed by the French National Reference Centre for Paramyxoviridae. RESULTS: Sixty two mumps patient-cases were identified using WHO case definitions, 20 being biologically explored, of which 17 were confirmed by biological tests. Vaccination status was documented for 27 patients/62: 4 (14.8%) patients had received one dose of MMR vaccine, and 23 (85.2) two doses of MMR vaccine. Among the biologically explored patients, 83% had a positive RT PCR at the first sampling whereas only 45% had positive or equivocal IgM. All the genotyped strains were genotype G. CONCLUSIONS: Mumps laboratory diagnosis in a highly vaccinated population is challenging. Serological tests among vaccinated patients should be interpreted cautiously and confirmed by RT-PCR tests at the beginning of a mumps outbreak.