Relapsing severe anaemia due to primary parvovirus B19 infection after renal transplantation: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

In renal transplant recipients Parvovirus B19 (PB19) infection can lead to severe anaemia, due to lytical replication within erythroid progenitor cells. Clearance of PB19-infection and protective immunity is assumed to be provided by specific PB19-IgG-antibodies [ 1 ]. In fact, passive transfer of PB19-IgG-antibodies by means of intravenous immunoglobulin (IvIg) preparations is successfully used to treat PB19-related anaemia [ 1 , 2 ]; however, several reports have shown that PB19-related anaemia can recur despite treatment with IvIg [ 2–11 ].