Multiple primer pairs for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of human parvovirus B19 DNA.

Human parvovirus B19 is the etiologic agent of erythema infectiosum and transient aplastic crisis in patients with hemolytic anemias and has been associated with fetal death, arthritis, and chronic anemia. Acute B19 infection is best diagnosed by detection of IgM antibodies, whereas the diagnosis of chronic infection often requires the sensitivity of PCR to demonstrate presence of virus over time. To improve our ability to detect B19 DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we evaluated 19 primers combined into 16 different primer pairs for their ability to detect temporally and geographically diverse B19 isolates. All 16 pairs reacted with all isolates tested but with different sensitivity. Sequence analysis showed few nucleotide changes compared with published sequences. These changes did not explain observed differences in sensitivity between primer pairs. The most sensitive primer pairs detected 350 to 3500 DNA copies after 35 cycles. A second amplification cycle with nested primers improved the sensitivity 100-fold. These 16 primer pairs provide the diagnostic virologist with multiple options for B19 PCR assays.