Sero-Frequencey of parvovirus B19 among Apparently Healthy Pregnant Women Attending Selected Antenatal Care Units in Khartoum State

Abstract

Human parvovirus B19 infection can cause serious complications, especiallyamong pregnant women, patient with hematological disorders, immunocompromised and fetus,result in non-immune hydrops, intrauterine fetal death, and fetal death. This study aimedto detect thefrequency of B19V IgG andIgM antibodiesamong apparently healthy pregnant women attending selected antenatal care unitsin Khartoum state, Sudan. Blood specimens were collected during the period from September2018 toAugust 2019 from93 pregnant womentheir ages ranged from 15-45 years. Specimens were tested for the presenceof parvovirus B19IgGand IgMantibodies usingELISA technique. Out of the 93 participants, 8 (8.6%) werepositivefor IgM whereas 19 (20.4%) werepositive for IgGandthose aged 25-35yearshadthe highest frequency of IgM antibodies 7(7.5%) andIgG antibodies 13 (14%).There wassignificant association between age and sero-positivity of anti-parvovirus IgM antibodies (p value= 0.028)and IgG antibodies (p value= 0.034). There were no significant associationswith gravidity, history of blood transfusion, history of miscarriages with B19 infections. In conclusion, the frequency of B19 virus IgM was lower (8.6%) than IgG (20.4%) amongapparently healthy pregnant women.