[Review] Resurgence of human metapneumovirus in the post-COVID-19 era: pathogenesis, epidemiological shifts, clinical impact, and future challenges

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV), a respiratory pathogen identified in 2001, is a substantial cause of community-acquired respiratory infections across all age groups. This Review explores the impact of hMPV after the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasising its resurgence as a public health concern. Epidemiological shifts, as well as unusual seasonal patterns, increased co-infection rates, and altered age distributions, have been observed globally. Phylogenetic analysis has shown the variation across three distinct periods, especially before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of genotypic distribution.