Primary Infections with PARV4, Finland | CDC EID

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Volume 17, Number 1–January 2011
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Serodiagnosis of Primary Infections with Human Parvovirus 4, Finland

Anne Lahtinen, Pia Kivelä, Lea Hedman, Arun Kumar, Anu Kantele, Maija Lappalainen, Kirsi Liitsola, Matti Ristola, Eric Delwart, Colin Sharp, Peter Simmonds, Maria Söderlund-Venermo, and Klaus Hedman Comments to Author

Author affiliations: University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland (A. Lahtinen, L. Hedman, A. Kumar, A. Kantele, M. Söderlund-Venermo, K. Hedman); Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki (P. Kivelä, L. Hedman, A. Kantele, M. Lappalainen, M. Ristola, K. Hedman); National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki (K. Liitsola); Blood System Research Institute, San Francisco, California, USA (E. Delwart); University of California, San Francisco (E. Delwart); and University of Edinburgh, Summerhall, UK (C. Sharp, P. Simmonds)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
To determine the prevalence of parvovirus 4 infection and its clinical and sociodemographic correlations in Finland, we used virus-like particle–based serodiagnostic procedures (immunoglobulin [Ig] G, IgM, and IgG avidity) and PCR. We found 2 persons with parvovirus 4 primary infection who had mild or asymptomatic clinical features among hepatitis C virus–infected injection drug users.

A new member of family Parvoviridae, human parvovirus 4 (PARV4), was identified in plasma of an injection drug user (IDU) with unexplained fatigue, headaches, fever, night sweats, nausea, and diarrhea (1). In PCR studies of blood and postmortem tissues, virus was detected mainly in persons with histories of injection drug use (2–5). A recent PARV4 immunoglobulin (Ig) G study also showed higher prevalence of antibodies to PARV4 in IDUs and HIV-positive persons who had hemophilia than in HIV-positive men who have sex with men (6). The clinical role of this virus is unknown.

We report virus-like particle–based comprehensive serodiagnosis for PARV4 and determine its occurrence in Finland in 3 diverse population groups. In the highest prevalence group, we comparatively analyzed PARV4 IgG–positive and IgG–negative persons for sociodemographic and behavioral background factors and symptoms by using an HIV risk factor database (7).

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Primary Infections with PARV4, Finland | CDC EID


Suggested Citation for this Article

Lahtinen A, Kivelä P, Hedman L, Kumar A, Kantele A, Lappalainen MJ, et al. Serodiagnosis of primary infections with human parvovirus 4, Finland. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2011 Jan [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/17/1/79.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1701.100750


Comments to the Authors

Please use the form below to submit correspondence to the authors or contact them at the following address:

Klaus Hedman, Department of Virology, Haartman Institute, University of Finland, Box 21, Haartmaninkatu 3, Helsinki FIN-00014, Finland; email: klaus.hedman@helsinki.fi