| Abstract: | Ninety-eight samples from 80 cases of spontaneous abortions after fetal death or hydrops fetalis from 12,000 pregnant women were examined using PCR. DNA was extracted from amniotic fluid, fetal blood, ascitic fluid and fetal biopsies or placenta specimens using QIA amp kits (QIAGEN). A 270-bp length fragment located within the B19 gene NS1 was amplified using PCR followed by electrophoresis and southern-blot hybridization assay using a horseradish peroxidase-labelled probe and chemiluminescence detection. This assay was able to detect 1 to 10 DNA copies in a 10 |gml sample. Parvovirus B19 was identified in 11 cases (14% of fetal hydrops; 1 case for 1,100 pregnancies). Amniotic fluid was the most common and reliable sample to assess the diagnosis. Gestational age ranged from 17 to 28 weeks (mean 23 weeks). IgM antibodies were detected in 3 maternal sera, 2 patients of which reported an exposure to B19 infection during pregnancy. In 2 cases, intrauterine blood transfusions led to the cessation of symptoms and to birth of normal babies. J. Med. Virol. 54:140–144, 1998. © Wiley-Liss, Inc. |
