Medical Journal of Babylon (Sep 2024)

Prevalence of Human Parvovirus B19 and Associated Risk Factors in Women with Bad Obstetric History in Babylon Province, Iraq

  • Maha Diekan Abbas,
  • Haider Turky Mousa Al-Mousawi,
  • Nadhim Mushtaq Hashim Al-Bderee,
  • Rasha M. A. Al-Humairi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/MJBL.MJBL_76_24
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 21, no. 3
pp. 664 – 672

Abstract

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Background:Parvovirus infection is an important cause of fetal loss during all three trimesters of pregnancy. Objectives:This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence, susceptibility rate, and risk factors of B19-V in women aged 15 to 45 in the Al-Hamza region of Babil, Iraq, considering the negative effects of the infection. Materials and Methods:Between January 2022 and March 2023, blood samples were taken from 116 women, including those with and those without a history of bad obstetric history (BOH). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to test sera taken from the study participants for B19 IgM and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. Those samples tested positive for IgG B19 were further subjected to polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing, targeting partial gene sequences of the nonstructural viral protein 1 (VP1) gene. Results:For human parvovirus IgG and IgM, the seropositivity was 44% and 16.5%, respectively. The following variables were associated in this study with greater seroprevalence rates of IgG and IgM, respectively: age 36–45 years (72.7%, 36.4%); abortion (80%, 32.5%); education (82.2%, 33.3%); unemployment (61%, 22.2%); and overcrowding (73.3%, 31.1%). In this case–control study, positive amplicons (700 bp) were detected from 27 samples out of 40 women of childbearing age who tested positive for IgG. Sequence analysis of the partial sequence of the VP1 gene in all positive amplicons was 100% identical with each other and with human parvovirus B19 (NC: 00088.3). According to the current study, about 66% of women are serologically negative and at risk of contracting parvovirus B19. Conclusion:Our findings conclude that pregnant women in Iraq, particularly those with BOH, must undergo frequent serological screening for B19-V during all three trimesters and be given the necessary advice to avoid B19-V infection to improve their pregnancy outcomes.

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