The following are the most important diseases or complications that may be caused by infection with parvovirus B19:
Blood, blood-forming organs – Immune system (D50-D90).
- Anemia (anemia), transient (temporary).
- Aplastic anemia (deficiency of all cell series in the blood due to transient inability of the bone marrow to form) due to prolonged viremia (presence of viruses in the blood) of the mother; possibly aplastic crisis.
- Erythroblastopenia – reduction of the precursors of red blood cells in the bone marrow.
- Granulocytopenia – too few white blood cells in the blood; these are important for the defense.
- Mesenteric lymphadenitis – inflammatory swelling of the lymph nodes in the area of the abdominal organs.
- Werlhoff’s disease – form of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP);disease with small skin and mucosal bleeding due to a deficiency of platelets (blood platelets).
- Pancytopenia (synonym: tricytopenia) – reduction of all three cell series in the blood.
- Purpura Schönlein-Henoch – toxic-allergic disease that leads to small bleeding of the skin and mucous membranes.
- Thrombocytopenia – too few platelets in the blood, these are important for blood clotting.
- Virus-associated hemophagocytic syndrome (NAHS).
Cardiovascular System (I00-I99).
- Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).
- Pericarditis (inflammation of the pericardium)
- Tricuspid regurgitation (leakage of the tricuspid valve of the heart) of the fetus.
Liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts-pancreas (pancreas) (K70-K77; K80-K87).
- Acute liver failure
- Hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) (in the sense of concomitant hepatitis).
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99).
- Acute arthritis (inflammation of the joints; occurring primarily in adults).
- Arthralgia (joint pain): transient mono- and polyarticular arthralgias.
- Chronic arthritis (inflammation of the joints).
- Myositis (muscle inflammation)
- Scleroderma – group of various rare diseases associated with hardening of connective tissue of the skin alone or of the skin and internal organs (especially digestive tract, lungs, heart and kidneys).
Psyche – nervous system (F00-F99; G00-G99).
- Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
- Guillain-Barré syndrome (polyradiculitis) – neurological disorder that can lead to ascending motor paralysis and pain; usually caused by infection with the Campylobacter jejuni bacterium or the cytomegalovirus
- Meningitis (meningitis)
- Cerebellar ataxia – neurological syndrome that leads to gait disorders due to cerebellar disease.
Pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium (O00-O99).
- Intrauterine fetal death (IUFT).
- Hydrops fetalis – disease of the fetus with increased edema (fluid accumulation) in fetal soft tissues and serous body cavities due tofetal anemia (fetal anemia) due to inhibition of erythropoiesis (formation and development of erythrocytes (red blood cells)) and shortening of erythrocyte lifespan.
- Spontaneous abortion (miscarriage).
Genitourinary system (kidneys, urinary tract – sex organs) (N00-N99)
- Glomerulonephritis – kidney disease, with inflammation of the kidney filterlets (glomeruli), occurring bilaterally and often leading to renal insufficiency (kidney weakness/renal failure).
Prognostic factors
- The risk for B19-associated complications is greatest with infection before 20 weeks’ gestation (see “Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Puerperium” below).
