title: Parvovirus B19 infection and Diamond-Blackfan anaemia.
abstract: It is the purpose of the study to report the frequency of parvovirus in children with a diagnosis of Diamond-Blackfan anaemia and to discuss the possible aetiological role of parvovirus in Diamond-Blackfan anaemia. We found parvovirus DNA in 3 of 11 bone marrow smears. Giant pronormoblasts showed low sensitivity (33%) and poor specificity (75%). The presence of giant pronormoblasts was associated with a very high myeloid:erythroid ratio, and may not be specific for parvovirus infection, but a feature of severely suppressed erythropoiesis. The three parvovirus-positive patients were the only children who experienced a remission, and who are free of medication. The seven surviving parvovirus-negative patients are all currently on steroid treatment.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Heegaard
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hasle
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Clausen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hornsleth
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Kerndrup
mesh_terms: D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000821:virology; D016731:Erythema Infectiosum / Q000150:complications*; D004912:Erythrocytes; D005199:Fanconi Anemia / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D016732:Parvovirus B19, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity