[A study of epidemiology and fetal effects of human parvovirus B19 infection]

The risk of human parvovirus B19(B19) infection in pregnant women, the relationship between B19 and early spontaneous abortion, and the pathogenesis of non-immune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) due to B19 infection were studied. 1) After the period of prevalence of erythema infectiosum(EI) between 1986 and 1987, the positive rate of anti B19 IgG antibody by sandwich ELISA in the sera from subjects aged 15-34 years old was 17-26%. This indicates that about 80% of pregnant women could be at the risk of B19 infection in future EI prevalence within ten years. 2) IgM antibody assayed by capture ELISA was positive in 1.4% of the sera from pregnant women during the period of EI prevalence. 3) B19 DNA could not be detected by in situ hybridization (ISH) in any chorionic tissues from 105 early spontaneous abortuses during the period. B19 infection could not be proven as one of the causes of early spontaneous abortion. 4) B19 DNA was localized by ISH in erythroblasts but not in myocardial cells of two fetuses out of 11 NIHF. Therefore, NIHF following B19 infection could take place due to anemia following B19 infection of erythroblasts and their destruction.