UNEXPECTED 2ND-TRIMESTER PREGNANCY LOSS DUE TO MATERNAL PARVOVIRUS B19 INFECTION

Five unexplained second trimester fetal deaths occurring in a 3-month interval were evaluated to determine whether the fetal demise was asso ciated with maternal infection due to parvovirus B19. One Fetus was ma rkedly hydropic, a classic finding of fetal infection; no gross anomal ies were present in the other four, Liver specimens from all five fetu ses showed viral inclusions by light microscopy, supporting the presen ce of fetal parvovirus B19 infection, None of the five women had a his tory of parvovirus infection, but serum samples from all of them were positive for IgG to parvovirus. We conclude that maternal parvovirus B 19 infection is associated with fetal demise during the second trimest er and that hydropic changes may be absent, necessitating careful eval uation of tissue from the dead fetus.