No evidence of persistent parvovirus B19 viremia among Iranian patients with HIV after a 1-year follow-up.

Recent studies have demonstrated that, in common with other latent viruses, parvovirus B19 infection can be controlled by the host immune response but may persist in some places such as the bone marrow. Persistent B19 infection has been found in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals, such as patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, there is limited data regarding long-term B19 viremia in HIV patients. In this study, we investigated virological and hematological findings, and also the clinical outcome, of seven cases of HIV/B19 coinfection (confirmed by PCR) after one year. These cases were provided from a previous study on patients with HIV infection that found B19 DNA in 13 cases. Seven of these 13 patients were available after 1 year, and we retested them for B19 viremia and B19-specific antibodies. B19 IgG was tested by ELISA, and B19 DNA was assessed by nested PCR. Anemia was not observed in these cases. All subjects had cleared viremia, but B19 IgG seroconversion occurred in two cases. No significant changes in CD4 and hemoglobin occurred. The results of this study indicate that B19 infection in HIV patients is a subtle infection and that B19 viremia is not a long-term event.