HIPAK Annual Meeting 2022

Human Metapneumovirus Infections are Influenced by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Michal Stein 1,2 Hodaya Cohen 3,4 Ital Nenet 3 Nofar Atari 3 Limor Kliker 3 Ilana S. Fratty 3 Efrat Bucris 3 Miranda Geva 3 Ella Mendelson 3,4 Neta Zuckerman 3 Michal Mandelboim 3,4
1Infectious Diseases and Infection Control Unit, Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, ישראל
2Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, ישראל
3Central Virology Laboratory, Public Health Services,, Ministry of Health, Sheba Medical Center,, ישראל
4Sackler Faculty of Medicine,, Tel Aviv University, ישראל

Objectives: Our study shows how the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel affected the circulation of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) during 2021 in comparison to previous years (2019-2020) as well as subtypes that were in circulation in Israel. Our results emphasize the need for developing an HMPV vaccine that will be efficient in children, more so now than before in light of the ongoing pandemic, and to prevent a possible pandemic from occurring in the future.

Methods: We collected and analysed 15,094 respiratory samples from patients of all ages, during the years 2019 to 2021 at the Sheba Medical Centre in Israel, and performed RT-PCR analysis of these samples. Additionally, we utilized whole genome sequencing to characterize the subtypes of HMPV circulating in Israel from 2019 to 2021.

Results: Before the emergence of COVID-19, HMPV usually peaked in the winter-months, then declined throughout the year. However, in 2021 with the lockdown policy and the government campaign of vaccination, we saw higher rates of HMPV infections, particularly in children, and mainly of subtype B1.

Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the repertoire of seasonal respiratory viruses, human Metapneumovirus in particular, with higher infection rates seen mainly in children.