THE INCIDENCE OF HUMAN PARVOVIRUS B19 INFECTION DURING PREGNANCY AND ITS IMPACT ON PERINATAL OUTCOME

A prospective study of parvovirus B19 infection during pregnancy was c onducted at a large teaching hospital in Barcelona, Spain. Women (1610 ) who were <28 weeks pregnant at enrollment were screened for parvovir us infection. The prevalence of IgG positivity was 35.03% (564/1610). The incidence of acute infection during pregnancy was 3.7% (60/1610), There were five abortions among the B19-infected women but only one wa s caused by parvovirus, as assessed by histologic examination and poly merase chain reaction assay. The incidence of fetal loss caused by par vovirus was, therefore, 1.66% (1/60). The remaining 55 pregnancies wer e uneventful, and at 1 year of age, none of the infants had serious ab normalities. The incidence of vertical transmission of infection was e stimated at 25%. This study provides evidence that although acute parv ovirus infection may occur relatively commonly during pregnancy, an ad verse fetal outcome is a rare complication.