Epidemic of parvovirus B19 and disease severity in pregnant people, Denmark, January to March 2024

Anne Christine Nordholm*, Frederik Trier Møller, Signe Fischer Ravn, Lotte Flink Sørensen, Anja Moltke-Prehn, Jacob Elskær Mollerup, Tjede Funk, Lene Sperling, Ulisa Jeyaratnam, Kristina Træholt Franck, Karina Hjort-Pedersen, Christina Hjørnet Kamper, Rikke Thoft Nielsen, Pikka Jokelainen, Maria Wessman

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

We report an epidemic of parvovirus B19 infections in Denmark during the first quarter of 2024, with a peak incidence 3.5 times higher than during the most recent epidemic in 2017. In total, 20.1% (130/648) of laboratory-confirmed cases were pregnant. Severe adverse outcomes were observed among 12.3% (16/130) of pregnant people and included foetal anaemia, foetal hydrops and miscarriage. Parvovirus B19 infection is not systematically monitored, but a national laboratory-based surveillance system is currently being established in Denmark. Parvovirus B19 infection, a common childhood infection, is an important concern for pregnant people in Europe, where up to 40% may be susceptible to the infection [1,2]. Parvovirus B19 usually causes mild disease, but it poses a risk to seronegative pregnant people, potentially resulting in severe outcomes such as anaemia, hydrops fetalis, foetal death or miscarriage [1,2]. In March 2024, clinicians in Denmark notified an increased number of hospitalisations and complications in pregnant people with parvovirus infection to the national public health institute, Statens Serum Institut (SSI), and a register-based study was initiated to investigate epidemiological trends and disease severity.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2400299
JournalEurosurveillance
Volume29
Issue number24
Number of pages4
ISSN1025-496X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13. Jun 2024

Keywords

  • Abortion, Spontaneous/epidemiology
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Denmark/epidemiology
  • Epidemics
  • Erythema Infectiosum/epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hydrops Fetalis/epidemiology
  • Incidence
  • Parvoviridae Infections/epidemiology
  • Parvovirus B19, Human/isolation & purification
  • Population Surveillance
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/epidemiology
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Young Adult

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