TY - JOUR T1 - Human metapneumovirus JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 84 LP - 85 VL - 55 IS - 511 AU - Anthony Harnden Y1 - 2005/02/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/55/511/84.abstract N2 - Children with respiratory infections frequently present to primary care. For doctors the diagnosis and management of these children is often straightforward — most infections are self-limiting and symptomatic treatment with antipyretics is the standard advice. ‘Viral infection’ is medical shorthand for saying the child has a minor illness and will recover without an antibiotic prescription. But parents may be dissatisfied with a diagnosis of ‘it's just a virus’ and their satisfaction with consultation enhanced by a more precise diagnosis and prognostic information about the likely course of the illness.1,2Using classical microbiological techniques, such as culture and immunofluorescence, a viral aetiology (for example rhinovirus, adenovirus, parainfluenza, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus [RSV]) has been identified in about 60% of children with respiratory infection. Advances in genetic diagnostic techniques, and in particular the use of polymerase chain reaction, have improved our ability to increase the percentage of children for which we can identify a viral cause for their respiratory infection. A … ER -