Molecular epidemiology of human metapneumovirus before and after COVID-19 in East Japan in 2017-2022

Kazuya Shirato; Reiko Suwa; Naganori Nao; Miyuki Kawase; Satoko Sugimoto; Yohei Kume; Mina Chishiki; Takashi Ono; Hisao Okabe; Sakurako Norito; Masatoki Sato; Hiroko Sakuma; Shigeo Suzuki; Mitsuaki Hosoya; Makoto Takeda; Koichi Hashimoto

doi:10.7883/yoken.JJID.2023.350

Molecular epidemiology of human metapneumovirus before and after COVID-19 in East Japan in 2017-2022

Jpn J Infect Dis. 2023 Dec 28. doi: 10.7883/yoken.JJID.2023.350. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Kazuya Shirato¹, Reiko Suwa¹, Naganori Nao^{1

2

3}, Miyuki Kawase¹, Satoko Sugimoto^{1

4}, Yohei Kume⁵, Mina Chishiki⁵, Takashi Ono⁵, Hisao Okabe⁵, Sakurako Norito⁵, Masatoki Sato⁵, Hiroko Sakuma⁶, Shigeo Suzuki⁷, Mitsuaki Hosoya⁵, Makoto Takeda^{1

8}, Koichi Hashimoto⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Virology III, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan.
² One Health Research Center, Hokkaido University, Japan.
³ Division of International Research Promotion, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Japan.
⁴ Management Department of Biosafety, Laboratory Animals, and Pathogen Bank, National Institute of Infectious Disease, Japan.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Japan.
⁶ Hoshi General Hospital, Japan.
⁷ Ohara General Hospital, Japan.
⁸ Department of Microbiology, Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Japan.

PMID: 38171847
DOI: 10.7883/yoken.JJID.2023.350

Abstract

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is genetically classified into two major subgroups, A and B, based on attachment glycoprotein (G) gene sequences, and the A2 subgroup is further separated into three subdivisions A2a, A2b (A2b1), and A2c (A2b2). The appearance of subgroup A2c viruses carrying a 180- or 111-nucleotide duplication in the G gene (A2c_180nt-dup or A2c_111nt-dup) have been reported in Japan and Spain. The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disrupted the epidemiological kinetics of other respiratory viruses, including hMPV. In this study, we analysed the sequences of hMPV isolates obtained from 2017 to 2022 in Tokyo and Fukushima, i.e., before and after COVID-19. Subgroup A hMPVs were detected in 2017 to 2019, and most cases were A2c_111nt-dup, suggesting there was continuous momentum of this clade, identical to the global situation. Subgroup B, but not subgroup A, viruses were detected in 2022, after the COVID-19 peak. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these resumed subgroup B viruses were closely related to the viruses detected in 2013 to 2016 in Yokohama and in 2019 in Fukushima, suggesting a reappearance of local endemic viruses in East Japan.

Keywords: human metapneumovirus; phylogenetic analysis; subgroup.