P-532. The burden of HMPV-associated hospitalization among children aged <18 years, 2016-2024

Abstract Background Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a major cause of respiratory disease. Clinical testing underestimates burden as HMPV is not included on most point-of-care tests. We estimated HMPV-associated pediatric hospitalization rates before and after the emergence of COVID-19 using clinical test results and prospectively collected surveillance specimens.Figure 1.Proportion of hospitalized children with an HMPV-positive surveillance test who were also clinically tested, before and after the emergence of COVID-19Figure 2.Estimated mean annual rate of HMPV-associated hospitalization and rate ratio comparing time periods, by age group* Indicates rate ratio differs at p-value