title: Outbreak of aplastic crises in sickle cell anaemia associated with parvovirus-like agent.
abstract: Since 1952, 112 children with sickle cell anaemia (SCA) in Jamaica have had an aplastic crisis. Outbreaks occurred in 1956, 1960, 1065-67, 1971-73, and 1979-80. Most cases occurred in children under 10 years of age, and an aplastic crisis in a patient over the age of 15 years is rare. There were 38 cases in 1979-80 and stored serum specimens from 28 of these were available for virus studies. Evidence for infection with a parvovirus-like agent was found in 24 of these 28 cases. Viral antigen was detected in 2 patients, both of whom demonstrated seroconversion. Seroconversion during 1980 was detected in a further 7, increasing amounts of antibody during the convalescent period were found in 5, antibody was found in 2 of 4 patients from whom only an acute phase specimen was available and the remaining 10 were antibody positive in the only convalescent phase sample available for testing. Antibody was found in 4 of 94 controls with the SS genotype (in retrospect 2 of these may have had an aplastic crisis) and in 17% of 48 controls with a normal haemoglobin (AA) genotype. The results accord with the possibility that the parvovirus-like agent is the principal cause of aplastic crisis in SCA.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007563:Jamaica; D010321:Parvoviridae; D012156:Reticulocytes / Q000473:pathology; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins