The magnitude and correlates of Parvovirus B19 infection among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Mwanza, Tanzania

Abstract

BackgroundHuman parvovirus B19 (B19) infection has been associated with congenital infection which may result into a number of the adverse pregnancy outcomes. The epidemiology and the magnitude of B19 infections among pregnant women have been poorly studied in developing countries. This study was done to establish preliminary information about the magnitude of B19 among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in the city of Mwanza, Tanzania.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2014 and June 2015 among 258 pregnant women attending two antenatal clinics representing rural and urban areas in the city of Mwanza. Socio-demographic data were collected using structured data collection tool. Specific B19 IgM and IgG antibodies were determined using indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kits (DRG Instruments GmbH, Germany). Data were analyzed using STATA version 11 software.ResultsThe median age of study participants was 21 IQR (19–25) years. Of 253 pregnant women; 116(44.96%), 109(42.25%) and 33(12.79%) were in the first, second and third trimester respectively. The majority 168(66.4%) of women were from urban areas. Of 253 pregnant women, the overall prevalence of IgM was 83(32.8%) while that of IgG was 142(55.0%) among 258 women tested. A total of 50(19.4%) women were positive for both IgG and IgM indicating true IgM positive. History of baby with low birth weight (OR: 10, 95% CI: 1.82–58.05, P = 0.01) was independent predictor of B19 IgG seropositivity and being at the third trimester was protective (OR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.16–0.92, P = 0.03). The IgG titers were found to decrease significantly as gestational age increases (Spearman’s rho = −0.2939, p = 0.0004)ConclusionMore than a half of pregnant women in Mwanza city are B19 IgG sero-positive with about one third of these being B19 IgM seropositive. Further studies to determine the impact of B19 infections among pregnant women and their newborns are recommended in developing countries.

Seroprevalences of antibodies against ToRCH infectious pathogens in women of childbearing age residing in Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Poland, Turkey and China

“…The results regarding seroprevalence for antibodies against parvovirus B19 from Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Poland and Turkey ranging from 36 to 55% are broadly consistent with earlier reports from India, Tanzania, Iran and Japan [35][36][37][38]. A study by Mossong et al determined age-specific anti-B19 seroprevalence profiles in five European countries (Belgium, England and Wales, Finland, Italy, Poland) by testing blood samples from large serum banks for the presence of IgG antibodies against parvovirus B19 using the same assay for all samples [39].…”

PREVALENCE OF HUMAN PARVOVIRUS B19 IgG AND IgM ANTIBODIES AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTENATAL CLINIC AT FEDERAL TEACHING HOSPITAL IDO-EKITI, NIGERIA.

“…Though the prevalence of B19V among pregnant women in developing countries is not well documented, few available documents show a sero-prevalence of 3.3% for B19V IgM in South Africa (Mirambo et al, 2017), 32.8% in Tanzania (Mirambo et al, 2017) and 13.2% in Central Nigeria (Emiasegen et al, 2011). A prevalence of 24.9% for B19V IgG has been documented in South Africa, 55.0% in Tanzania (Mirambo et al, 2017), 27.5% in Central Nigeria (Emiasegen et al, 2011) and 20% in South-West Nigeria (Abiodun et al, 2013).…”

Serological Markers of Viral Infections (Rubella Virus, Human Cytomegalovirus and Arboviruses) among Symptomatic Pregnant Women in Rural and Urban Areas of Mwanza, Tanzania

“…Regarding RV, 1.2% of studied women had an acute infection, which is comparable to a previous study in the same settings that reported an IgM seropositivity of 0.3% among asymptomatic pregnant women [ 42 ]. This unexpected low seropositivity in the current study could be explained by the fact that signs and symptoms of acute RV infections are nonspecific, and most of the time, they mimic those of other viruses, which have been reported to be common in Mwanza [ 6 , 43 , 44 ]. In addition, the majority of the women enrolled in this study were reported to have signs and symptoms whereby some of them might have occurred a long time before sample collection.…”