June 8, 2024. Increase in cases of parvovirus B19 in Europe

June 8, 2024

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has warned of an unusually large increase in virus cases. parvovirus B19 (B19V) in several countries of the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA).

In particular, the threat was reported in 14 countriesTherefore, ECDC released the report to raise awareness of the current situation of this virus, especially as it relates to high-risk populations, and to suggest actions that can be taken to address the problem.

On 22 March 2024, Danish public health authorities notified other EU/EEA and ECDC Member States of a sharp increase in the number of pregnant women infected with parvovirus B19 in the first quarter of 2024. Since then, 14 other EU/EEA Member States (Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia and Spain) have reported an increase in detections of B19V infections through various surveillance systems (laboratories, hospitals and primary care facilities). care), screening of blood donors or screening of donated plasma for fractionation.

B19V infection optional notification at EU level, and surveillance is not established in most EU/EEA countries, so the ECDC requested any available epidemiological information to assess the situation. The following Member States reported via EpiPulse:

• Czech: Tenfold increase in erythema infectiosum diagnoses in 2024 compared to 2023.
• Denmark: Increase in detections in pregnant women in the first quarter of 2024, with data comparable to the largest increase previously observed in 2017. During 2024 and up to April 10, 250 cases of B19V were reported. Of these cases, 50 (20%) were pregnant women, of whom 10% required hospitalization.
• France: Since July 2023, there have been an unusually high number of severe cases of B19V infection in children, several infections in pregnant women, and an unusually high number of miscarriages and abortions associated with B19V infection. In the first quarter of 2024, there were five deaths among children under one year of age, four of which were congenital B19V infections. Between 2015 and 2019, there were 1.8 deaths per year due to B19V, the majority of which (78%) occurred in children over 15 years of age.
• Ireland: Increased number of B19V detections in the first quarter of 2024. During this period, 116 positive PCR results were identified, which exceeds the annual number of positive PCR results between 2020 and 2023 (30 to 61 cases per year). In the first quarter of 2024, 59 positive B19V IgM samples were detected, compared to 60–84 in the previous three years. The B19V IgM positivity rate increased in the first quarter of 2024 to 3.5%, which is higher than the positivity rates recorded for 2019–2023.
• Latvia: 58 cases (56% positive among cases tested) for the 2023-2024 season. compared to zero to six cases during the same period (December-March) in the previous five years. Of the 58 B19V cases reported this season, 67% were in children.
• Lithuania: Increased detection of parvovirus B19V in blood donor screening in some counties.
• Netherlands: Increase in detections from late 2023. This increase continued in the first months of 2024 and was observed in blood and plasma donors at the national blood bank, during national virological surveillance and in reports from local health authorities indicating an increase in erythema. infectiosum in the pediatric population.
• Norway: Testing activity was highest among adults ages 30 to 59, who also represent the largest number of positive cases (mostly IgM, but also PCR). The positivity rate increased at the end of January 2024, but did not continue to increase in subsequent months.
• Spain: The National Center of Microbiology (Carlos III Health Institute) observed a higher positivity rate for B19V in 2023 and the first months of 2024 compared to years before the pandemic.

Additionally, a study published in France on May 23, 2024, reported similar trends of increasing detection of B19V across more than 25 million blood donors in the country.

Following reporting of this event in the ECDC Weekly Communicable Disease Threat Report (CDTR) dated April 5, 2024. Great Britain (UK) has published a health protection report highlighting the rise in B19V cases in the UK in late 2023 and early 2024. However, the reported numbers do not match those seen in 2017 and 2018, when previous surges occurred.

In Israel, a study published in November 2023 found a rise in the number of B19V cases that was the highest to date in the country. More than 40% of the total number of infections detected during the study period (January 2015 to September 2023) were recorded during the last nine months of the study. The adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) was 6.6 (95% CI 6.3–6.9) comparing detections in 2023 with previous years. When 2023 is compared to the peak years of COVID-19, the increase is even more pronounced: the incidence rate has increased ninefold. In contrast to previous increases, the highest rates of B19V incidence in 2023 occurred during the fall months. Children accounted for more than 80% of infections, and pregnant women also experienced a relative increase in infection rates.

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