Low seroprevalence of parvovirus B19 in Taiwanese children and young adults.
BACKGROUND
This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of parvovirus B19 antibodies in children and young adults aged=30 years old in Taiwan.


METHODS
Stored serum samples from healthy volunteers aged 1-29 years in Taipei were randomly selected and tested for antiparvovirus B19 immunoglobulin G by enzyme immunoassay.


RESULTS
A total of 277 serum samples were tested. The overall seroprevalence of parvovirus B19 in Taiwanese children and young adults was 23.1% (64/277) in 2004. The positive rate increased slightly with age; it ranged from 15.0% in those aged 1-4 years to 30.8% in those aged 25-29 years (trend test, p=0.01). The age-adjusted anti-B19 immunoglobulin G seropositive rate was slightly higher in males (27.8%) than in females (18.8%; adjusted odds ratio: 0.56; 95% confidence interval: 0.32-0.99).


CONCLUSIONS
Most children and young adults in Taipei City are not immune to parvovirus B19, suggesting that no parvovirus B19 epidemic has occurred in the last few decades.
Su
Wei-Ju
WJ
Centers for Disease Control, Department of Health, Taipei, Taiwan.
Ni
Yen-Hsuan
YH
Liu
Ding-Ping
DP
Chiou
Li-Shiuan
LS
Cheng
Wen-Yueh
WY
Wu
Jiunn-Shyan Julian
JS
Lu
Chun-Yi
CY
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010322:Parvoviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016732:Parvovirus B19, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G