Human Parvovirus B19 Infection in Persons with Haemophilia

Abstract

We have read with interest the recent publication of Aygören-Pürsün et al. (1) in which they ascribe 5 seroconversions for human parvovirus B19, among 16 previously untreated and susceptible persons receiving recombinant factor VIII, to possible B19 contamination of the albumin excipient. A more likely explanation, in the absence of a close temporal association with infusion of a particular product batch, is that this just represents community-acquired infection of this endemic virus, particularly in a group of young age. We have suggested this previously (2-4) and such an explanation would also be supported by a study we performed in 1995 showing similar age dependence of B19 seroprevalence in the Scottish population and Scots persons with haemophilia (Fig. 1), and by other studies that include an appropriate control group, such as that of Williams et al. (5).