ABSTRACT
A total of 1397 sera collected from 1095 cases of exanthematic disease notified as measles in ES and RJ states during July 1992 to December 1994 were investigated. These sera were first tested for measles and rubella specific IgM. When they proved negative, they were tested for B19 specific IgM by an enzyme immunoassay. B19 infection was confirmed in 27 (2.5 per cent) of these cases. Sera from 194 negative cases for measles and rubella IgM received from other Brazilian states were also investigated and B19 infection was confirmed for 11 of them. Sera from these 38 IgM positive cases for B19, were tested for anti-B19 IgG by an enzyme immunoassay and for B19 DNA by dot blot hybridization. Anti-B19 IgG antibodies were detected in most of the acute sera. B19 DNA was detected in the acute serum of one patient that had been splenectomized before. As the exanthem caused by human parvovirus infection may be clinically diagnosed as rubella, it could be important to diagnose B19 infection in Brazil since it is becoming prevalent as the cause of rash in countries where rubella is controlled by vaccination.
Subject(s)
Humans , Antibodies, Viral/blood , Immunoglobulin M/blood , Measles/immunology , Parvovirus B19, Human/immunology , Biomarkers , Measles/bloodABSTRACT
Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded lung and liver tissue from 23 cases of non immune hydrops fetalis and five control cases, in which hydrops were due to syphilis (3) and genetics causes (2), were examined for the presence of human parvovirus B19 by DNA hybridisation. Using in situ hybridisation with a biotynilated probe one positive case was detected. Using 32 P-labelled probes in a dot blot assay format, five further positives were obtained. These were all confirmed as positive by a nested polymerase chain reaction assay. Electron microscopy revealed virus in all these five positive cases. The six B19 DNA positive cases of hydrops fetalis were from 1974, 1980, 1987 and 1988, four of which occurred during the second half of the year, confirming the seasonality of the disease.