Seroepidemiology of human bocavirus in Apulia, Italy

A serological survey was performed to determine the prevalence of antibodies against human bocavirus in an Apulian population. Anti-hBoV IgG antibodies were analysed in 1206 inhabitants (age range, 1 month84 years) using a standardized ELISA test based on the use of recombinant hBoV VP2 virus-like particles. In total, 1075 (89.1%) of 1206 participants (mean age 32 +/- 24.8 years) displayed anti-hBoV-IgG. The seroprevalence increased significantly (p < 0.0001) in children from 24 years (64.2%) to 59 years (96.4%). A similar trend was observed in both male and female subjects. In conclusion, our results show that hBoV infection is common in this population, especially in children.