The emerging story of a human parvovirus-like agent

Abstract

It is now seven years since Cossart and her co-workers reported finding a novel parvovirus-like agent (PVLA) infecting man. Although this virus was found as a systemic infection in both Dr Cossart's eleven subjects and a further four subjects described subsequently (Paver & Clarke, 1976; Schneerson, Mortimer & Vandervelde, 1980) it was not until 1981 that a clearly defined clinical syndrome was identified as attributable to infection with this agent. Work in the Departments of Microbiology and Haematology, King's College Hospital Medical School and collaboration with the MRC laboratory at Kingston, Jamaica has shown that infection with the PVLA is the major cause of aplastic crisis in children with sickle cell anaemia (Sergeant et al. 1981, Anderson et al. 1982a, b).

Diagnostic assays with monoclonal antibodies for the human serum parvovirus-like virus (SPLV)

“…Assays using monoclonal antibody therefore confirmed and extended the findings made by methods based on human convalescent serum as source of anti-SPLV (reviewed by Anderson, 1982). The sequence of serological events in SPLV infection is that of a massive, but transient antigenaemia followed by the development of specific IgM and IgG.…”

Characteristics and Taxonomy of <i>Parvoviridae</i>

“…This virus is identical with the parvovirus-like particles discovered by Cossart et al [20] in sera of asymptomatic blood donors and then designated B19. In fection by the virus was found to be linked to the development of aplastic crisis in chronic hemolytic anemias [1] and, more recently, it could be shown to represent the causative agent of erythema infectiosum (fifth disease), a well-known disease of childhood [2], A pos sible member of genus Parvovirus is RA-I virus, which was recently derived from syn ovial tissue of a patient with severe rheuma toid arthritis [75]. The characteristics of this isolate, as well as its relationship to esta blished members of the genus, await investi gation.…”

Biochemical Characterization of a Human Parvovirus

“…A previously undescribed virus was found in human sera by Cossart and associates in 1975. On examination in the electron microscope, virus particles were seen, which on the basis of size and morphology were classified as parvovirus-like (Cossart et al, 1975;Paver & Clarke, 1976;Anderson, 1982). Subsequent studies have associated this virus with febrile illness (Shneerson et al, 1980), the aplastic crisis of sickle cell disease and hereditary spherocytosis (Serjeant et al, 1981;Kelleher et al, 1983), and most recently with erythema infectiosum (fifth disease) of childhood (Anderson et al, 1983).…”