Tale of two viruses: parvovirus B19 and HIV

Hayley Hernstadt; Paul Randell; Sarah Fidler; Caroline Foster

doi:10.1136/bcr-2020-239153

Tale of two viruses: parvovirus B19 and HIV

BMJ Case Rep. 2021 Apr 20;14(4):e239153. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2020-239153.

Authors

Hayley Hernstadt^{1

2}, Paul Randell³, Sarah Fidler³, Caroline Foster⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK hayleyhernstadt@gmail.com.
² Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
³ Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.
⁴ Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.

Abstract

We present a HIV-infected patient who developed severe anaemia due to chronic parvovirus B19 infection and subsequently had an unplanned pregnancy. This is in the context of poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy and significant immunosuppression; there was a delay in diagnosis of chronic parvovirus infection due to attribution of anaemia to HIV. She received immunoglobulin therapy and effective antiretroviral therapy, with reduction in parvovirus load and improvement in anaemia. She was counselled regarding the need for monitoring in pregnancy due to risk of intrauterine infection. We review the literature of management of chronic parvovirus infection in the immunosuppressed and the consequences of intrauterine infection.

Keywords: HIV / AIDS; haematology (incl blood transfusion); infectious diseases; materno-fetal medicine.

Publication types

Case Reports
Review

MeSH terms

Erythema Infectiosum* / complications
Erythema Infectiosum* / diagnosis
Female
Humans
Hydrops Fetalis
Parvoviridae Infections* / complications
Parvoviridae Infections* / diagnosis
Parvovirus B19, Human*
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious* / drug therapy