ABSTRACT
Human Parvovirus B19, the causative agent of fifth disease in childhood, lacks lipid envelop and is resistant to many physicochemical agents. B19 is a potential risk to hemophiliac patients receiving blood products.The present research is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. To determine the prevalence of the corresponding antibody in patients with hemophilia A or B or Von Willbrand's disease, we tested 180 hemophilia patients for anti B19 IgG. The results were compared with those of 400 age-matched controls subjects [male blood donors and children]. SPSS version 10 and Chisquar were used for data analysis.The overall prevalence of B19 IgG in the hemophilia patients was 74% [133/180] and in thecontrol 56.5% [226/400, p<0.001]. These observations demonstrate that parvovirus B19 is frequently transmitted by bloodproducts. Existing virus-inactivating methods do not prevent transmission