Parvovirus B19 infection in children with acute illness and rash

Parvovirus B19 is responsible for a variety of cutaneous diseases, including erythema infectiosum and papular purpuric gloves-and-socks syndrome. It is also associated with other dermatologic diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus. To study the prevalence of parvovirus B19 infection in children with acute illness and rash, we did a prospective study of 110 children at the Chiang Mai University teaching hospital from January 2001 to November 2003. Sera from these patients were analyzed for immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G antibodies against human parvovirus B19 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay techniques. From a total of 110 patients with acute illness and rash, there were paired serum samples for 90 patients and single serum sample for 20 patients. For those with paired serum samples, there were three patients with recent parvovirus B19 infection that presented with erythema infectiosum, urticaria, and lupus erythematosus, respectively. Immunoglobulin G antibodies were tested in serum samples of 103 children; 28.2% were positive. These data indicate that parvovirus B19 is not a common cause of acute illness and rash in children.