A population-based epidemiological survey of human parvovirus B19 infection: a project of the Kyushu and Okinawa Population Study (KOPS)

Human parvovirus B19 infection occurs by droplet nuclei through the respiratory tract and causes a wide range of diseases. It can be transmitted through blood transfusion from asymptomatic blood donors. This study was done to investigate the parvovirus B19 infection rate of a group of healthy Japanese residents. Of 2,081 blood samples tested, 15 (0.72 %) were positive for parvovirus B19 IgM, 1,412 (67.9 %) for B19 virus IgG, and 4 (0.2 %) for parvovirus B19 DNA. About half of all women of childbearing age were susceptible to parvovirus B19 infection. No relationship was found between the frequency of symptoms and the prevalence of parvovirus B19 IgG and IgM, suggesting that there are asymptomatic carriers in the healthy Japanese population. There is a risk of parvovirus B19 infection by blood transfusion from asymptomatic donors and that pregnant women are at high risk for parvovirus B19 infection.