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Published on: November 7, 2018
Chronic hepatitis caused by persistent parvovirus B19 infection
Trine H Mogensen1, Jens Magnus B Jensen, Stephen Hamilton-Dutoit
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, DK-8200 Aarhus N, Denmark. trine.mogensen@dadlnet.dk
BMC Infectious Diseases
|August 24, 2010
Summary
Persistent parvovirus B19 infection can cause chronic hepatitis. This case highlights the virus as an unusual cause of liver disease, especially in patients with lymphopenia.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Hepatology
- Immunology
Background:
- Parvovirus B19 typically targets erythroid cells, causing various clinical conditions.
- Emerging evidence suggests parvovirus B19 infects other cell types, leading to poorly understood diseases.
- The virus's tropism and role in infectious and autoimmune diseases remain key research questions.
Observation:
- An unusual case of persistent parvovirus B19 infection causing chronic hepatitis is presented.
- The patient exhibited over four years of parvovirus B19 viremia with elevated liver enzymes and biopsy-confirmed chronic hepatitis.
- Other causes of hepatitis were excluded, and the patient had pre-existing lymphopenia.
Findings:
- Parvovirus B19 was identified as the direct cause of chronic hepatitis in this patient.
- The patient's idiopathic lymphopenia likely predisposed her to persistent parvovirus B19 infection.
- The liver may have served as a viral reservoir during the chronic infection.
Implications:
- Parvovirus B19 should be considered an uncommon etiology of chronic hepatitis when other causes are ruled out.
- This case underscores the broader clinical spectrum of parvovirus B19 beyond its typical erythroid effects.
- Further research into parvovirus B19's non-erythroid tropism and associated pathologies is warranted.
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