Maas J J, Beersma M F, Haan J, Jonkers G J, Kroes A C
Department of Neurology, Rijnland Hospital Leiderdorp, The Netherlands.
Ann Neurol. 1996 Dec;40(6):928-32. doi: 10.1002/ana.410400618.
A man, 23 years of age, had a typical erythema infectiosum, complicated by a severe bilateral brachial plexus neuritis. Motor function recovered slowly and only partially after 6 months. An infection by human parvovirus B19 was demonstrated, with strongly positive and gradually declining IgM antibodies and viral DNA detectable in serum for more than 3 months. There was also clear evidence of a recent infection by cytomegalovirus. The interaction between these two viruses could be responsible for this rare and severe complication of common infections in this patient.
