INFECTION DUE TO PARVOVIRUS B19 IN PATIENTS INFECTED WITH HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS

Parvovirus B19 has been described as a cause of chronic anemia in immu nosuppressed patients, including those infected with human immunodefic iency virus (HIV). In this study serological assays and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to establish the prevalence of both pr ior and active infection due to parvovirus B19 among a general populat ion of 105 HIV-infected individuals (cohort I) and among 22 HIV-infect ed patients with anemia (cohort II), Eight individuals in cohort I(7.6 %) had IgG antibodies to parvovirus B19, while none had B19-specific I gM antibodies, In cohort II, four patients(18.2%) had B19-specific IgG antibodies and none had IgM antibodies. Only one person in cohort I(0 .95%) and one person in cohort II(4.5%) had evidence on PCR of persist ent infection with parvovirus B19; both of these patients lacked Ige a nd IgM antibodies to parvovirus, Both individuals with B19 viremia wer e anemic and had CD4 lymphocyte counts suggesting advanced immunosuppr ession (<50/mm(3)), The observed low prevalences of B19 seropositivity and active B19 infection differ from the rates documented in previous studies and indicate that infection with parvovirus B19 is uncommon i n some groups of HIV-infected patients.