Human parvovirus B19 and meningoencephalitis

1 describe the association of human parvovirus B19 infection with acute meningo- encephalitis. We have reported a patient with transient encephalopathy and hepatitis associated with B19 infection. 2 B19 DNA was detected in the patient's serum and cerebrospinal fluid by PCR. B19 IgM and IgG were positive for the serum sample but negative for the cerebrospinal fluid. We investigated further the presence of B19 DNA in 744 stored cerebrospinal fluid samples by PCR to clarify retrospectively the contribution of B19 to central nervous system involvement. 3 Three (0·4%) samples were positive, two being samples from children with encephalopathy. The remaining one was from a patient with malignant disease who had no central nervous system involvement. B19 IgM and IgG were detected in the serum samples for these patients, but not in the cerebrospinal fluid. A new genome type of B19 obtained from two patients with encephalopathy has been reported.