AN EPIDEMIC OF APLASTIC CRISIS CAUSED BY HUMAN PARVOVIRUS B19

Human parvovirus B19 has been associated with several diseases, Aplast ic crisis in patients with chronic hemolytic anemia, erythema infectio sum, hydrops fetalis and arthritis are among the common diseases cause d by this virus infection, In the period between July, 1991, and March , 1992, 48 patients with aplastic crises were hospitalized at Saudi Ar amco-Dhahran Health Center, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Forty-six patients had homozygous sickle cell disease, one had hemoglobin H disease and o ne had hereditary elliptocytosis, Evidence of recent human parvovirus infection was present in 91% of the cases, Leukopenia was present in 2 1%, neutropenia in 27% and thrombocytopenia in 42%, This differs from previous reports in which red blood cell aplasia causing anemia was th e only hematologic finding reported in most patients, There were no ca ses of erythema infectiosum in either the patients or the community du ring the epidemic and the reason for this phenomenon is not obvious. T he almost limited occurrence of aplastic crisis in patients with sickl e cell disease in a population with a high incidence of other types of chronic hemolytic anemias is of interest.