Diagnostic of parvovirus B19 infection.

An ELISA for detecting parvovirus B19 specific IgM and IgG was established using B19 viral particles as antigen derived from plasma of donors in the incubation phase of erythema infectiosum. At onset of erythema infectiosum anti-B19 IgM was detected in titers of 10(-4) and was positive up to 19 weeks. Anti-B19 IgG could be detected in clinical specimens one week after onset of erythema infectiosum and persisted in titers up to 10(-6) throughout the convalescent period. Among 3,289 sera of patients tested routinely for acute infection in the virology department in 1987-88, 478 (14.5%) were found anti-B19 IgM-positive. Among all patients with acute B19 infection, erythema infectiosum was the most frequent manifestation (304/63.6%).