“Newly Detected Virus May Cause Infections”

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According to a study published in the current issue of Pediatrics, Yale University researchers have found that a virus called the human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is responsible for 6.4 percent of retested lab samples from 296 children who had respiratory problems in late 2001 and early 2002. The exact prevalence of the virus--which was first identified in the Netherlands two years ago--remains unknown, but it has been detected in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Yale University researcher and senior author Jeffrey Kahn asserts that hMPV causes similar symptoms to severe acute respiratory syndrome but is less contagious. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention respiratory disease specialist Dr. Larry Anderson says that early research into a vaccine or the new virus is ongoing.

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