Epidemiological survey in a day care center following toddler sudden death due to human metapneumovirus infection

• Published in: Archives de pédiatrie : organe officiel de la Société française de pédiatrie Vol. 26; no. 8; pp. 479 - 482
• Main Authors: Lormeau, B., Foulongne, V., Baccino, E., Adriansen, A., Pidoux, O., Prodhomme, O., Haquet, A., Guyon, G., Jeziorski, E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: France Elsevier Masson SAS 01-11-2019; Elsevier; French Society of Pediatrics. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS
• Subjects: Acute respiratory distress syndrome; Child Day Care Centers; Child, Preschool; Death, Sudden - epidemiology; Death, Sudden - etiology; Epidemiologic Studies; Epidemiology; Female; France - epidemiology; Human health and pathology; Humans; Infectious diseases; Life Sciences; Metapneumovirus; Paramyxoviridae Infections - complications; Paramyxoviridae Infections - epidemiology; Pediatrics; Sudden infant death syndrome; France; Acute respiratory distress syndrome; Sudden infant death syndrome; Epidemiology; Metapneumovirus
• ISSN: 0929-693X; 1769-664X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.arcped.2019.10.002

We report the sudden death of a 33-month-old child owing to acute respiratory distress syndrome due to human metapneumovirus (hMPV) infection. Of 30 children attending the same day care centre, 26% and 59% had hMPV and multiple infections, respectively; three of six children with pneumonia had a diagnosis of hMPV. hMPV infection is common in childhood viral co-infections but it can cause sudden death.