SEROPREVELANCE OF PARVOVIRUS B19 INFECTION IN CHILDREN WITH HEMOGLOBINOPATHIES IN KHARTOUM STATE

This is a descriptive, comparative hospital based study. The study was conducted in the pediatric wards of some hospitals of Khartoum state, and in the sickle cell disease referral clinic in Khartoum Children Emergency Hospital. Study period was from September to December 2004. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Parvovirus B19 infection and to identify the correlation between B19 virus and a plastic crisis in children with hemoglobinopathies. The study population comprised of 180 children, between one month to 18 years of age, of whom 75 children had homozygous sickle cell (SS) disease, 13 thalassemic children, 2 patients with hemoglobin SC and 90 control children with a normal hemoglobin (AA). The prevalence of parvovirus B19 IgG antibody in children with hemoglobinopathies was found to be 31.1% while in normal children was found to be 26.7%. The incidence of acute 15 infection, (a plastic crises) designated by a positive parvovirus IgM antibody, was 6.7% among patients with hemoglobinopathies and 2.2% in normal children. The corelated factors between parvovirus B19 and a plastic crises were only found to be of significant difference in the case of poor housing condition (P < 0.001). As parvovirus B19 infection is discovered to be widely prevalent in the Sudan by this study, so our recommendation is to establish the screening program in all blood banks and to conduct the diagnosis and treatment program specially for hemoglobinopathies