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. 2024 Jun;29(24):2400299.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.24.2400299.

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

Anne Christine Nordholm  1 , Frederik Trier Møller  1 , Signe Fischer Ravn  2 , Lotte Flink Sørensen  2 , Anja Moltke-Prehn  2 , Jacob Elskær Mollerup  2 , Tjede Funk  1 , Lene Sperling  3 , Ulisa Jeyaratnam  1 , Kristina Træholt Franck  4 , Karina Hjort-Pedersen  3 , Christina Hjørnet Kamper  5 , Rikke Thoft Nielsen  2 , Pikka Jokelainen  6 , Maria Wessman  1
Affiliations

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

Anne Christine Nordholm et al. Euro Surveill. 2024 Jun.

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.

Keywords: Fifth disease; epidemiology; erythema infectiosum; parvovirus B19; pregnancy; public health; surveillance.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Incidence of parvovirus B19 infections and hospital admissions among pregnant cases and all confirmed cases, by year and month, Denmark, January 2014–April 2024 (n = 3,989)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pregnant people with laboratory-confirmed parvovirus B19 infection and complications, by month, Denmark, January 2014–April 2024 (n = 565)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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