Sj. Naides et al., PARVOVIRUS B19 INFECTION IN HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1-INFECTED PERSONS FAILING OR INTOLERANT TO ZIDOVUDINE THERAPY, The Journal of infectious diseases, 168(1), 1993, pp. 101-105
To determine the incidence of B19 infection in patients with AIDS who
were being treated with dideoxyinosine, serial sera (n = 28) taken ove
r a 2-year period from 14 individuals were analyzed with respect to an
ti-B19 serology and the presence of B19 DNA. All 14 individuals were a
nti-B19 IgM negative. Nine of 14 had B19 viremia by Southern analysis
of polymerase chain reaction product. Five of 9 with B19 viremia had g
reater-than-or-equal-to 1 anti-B19 IgG-positive sample; none of 5 with
out viremia had anti-B19 IgG. Four of 9 viremic individuals had serial
ly positive samples. All 4 had severe anemia (hemoglobin <8.5 g/dL) wh
ile taking zidovudine. A fifth individual whose severe anemia resolved
after zidovudine was discontinued did not have B19 viremia. Therefore
, a significant proportion of this group of patients with AIDS who dev
eloped severe anemia while receiving zidovudine had persistent B19 inf
ection. These results suggest that B19 infection should be considered
in anemic patients with AIDS.