D. Dieck et al., Prenatal diagnosis of congenital parvovirus B19 infection: Value of serological and PCR techniques in maternal and fetal serum, PRENAT DIAG, 19(12), 1999, pp. 1119-1123
Citations number
33
Categorie Soggetti
Reproductive Medicine","Medical Research Diagnosis & Treatment
Intrauterine infection with parvovirus B19 (B19) is associated with non-imm
une hydrops fetalis, miscarriage and stillbirth. Accurate laboratory tests
for diagnosis of B19 infection are required to exclude other diagnoses. We
analysed the diagnostic value of B19 IgM antibody testing and polymerase ch
ain reaction (PCR) in the sera from 57 patients and their fetuses with abno
rmal ultrasonography. Viral DNA was found in 16 of the 58 fetuses (one twin
pregnancy) whereas only 7 of these were tested positive for B19 IgM antibo
dies. The sera of all 16 mothers were also positive for B19 DNA. False-posi
tive B19 IgM results were obtained from two fetuses. The study highlights t
he limitations of B19 IgM serology and shows for the first time that, if a
sensitive PCR assay is used, DNA measurement is the best indicator of infec
tion not only in the fetal blood but also in the maternal blood. This impro
ves the diagnostic value of the laboratory results considerably. DNA assays
are essential in cases of doubtful serological results. Copyright (C) 1999
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.