Prevalence of antibodies to parvovirus B 19 in Thailand

Infection with human parvovirus B 19, a single-stranded non-enveloped DNA virus of worldwide distribution, is rather common and displays a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations of varying severity, depending on the patient's immune response. As the target of infection are the erythroid precursor cells, patients can experience an aplastic crisis. Usually, at least in immunocompetent individuals, viremia ceases with the appearance of virus-specific antibodies in the patient's serum whereupon the patients retain lifelong immunity to reinfection. Since data as to the prevalence of this agent has not been established for Thailand, the purpose of the present study was to investigate its frequency among 3 distinct groups, comprising 30 healthy children. 64 children with acute unrelated illness, and 35 voluntary blood donors, respectively, by means of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Our results have shown that, as reported for other countries, anti-parvovirus IgG increases in an age-dependent manner and is established at an overall prevalence of 20.16%, inviting the conclusion that the local population is infected by this agent as frequently as those of other countries in the Far East. Further studies need to be undertaken in order to elucidate its prevalence among members of high-risk groups.