A pilot study on the seroprevalence of parvovirus B19 infection.
OBJECTIVE
Human parvovirus B 19 (PVB 19) causes aplastic crisis in children with congenital haemolytic anaemia, erythema infectiosum, abortion and stillbirth. Since data on PVB 19 prevalence is lacking in India, a pilot study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of IgG antibody in children and adults.


METHODS
The samples were obtained from children attending our hospital and from volunteer blood donors, majority of whom were from south India. They included 45 children aged 1-5 yr, 39 aged 6-10 yr, 42 aged 11-15 yr and 100 healthy blood donors > 15 yr of age. Sera were tested for the presence of antibody to PVB 19 using a commercial enzyme immuno assay (EIA).


RESULTS
Of 226 samples tested, 113 (50%) were positive for PVB 19 IgG. The prevalence of antibody increased from 8.9 per cent at 1-5 yr to 70 per cent in those > 15 yr: the median age of infection was between 6 and 15 yr. Sex and domiciliary status did not have significant effect on the prevalence of antibody. The IgG antibody index increased significantly with age, suggesting repeated exposure to the virus.


CONCLUSIONS
This seroprevalence study indicates that large numbers of individuals show exposure to PVB 19 virus. The exposure as indicated by IgG positivity is seen to increase with age. The IgG negative individuals may be considered to be at risk of developing infections due to PVB 19.
Abraham
Mary
M
Department of Clinical Virology, Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore, India.
Rudraraju
Rajeev
R
Kannangai
Rajesh
R
George
Koshy
K
Cherian
Thomas
T
Daniel
Dolly
D
Ramalingam
Sandeep
S
Sridharan
Gopalan
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016731:Erythema Infectiosum / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007194:India; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016732:Parvovirus B19, Human / Q000276:immunology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G