Greater surveillance. In a press release this Monday, April 22, Public Health France warns of the increase in parvovirus B19 infections due to an “epidemic affecting all age categories and, in particular, children” that “began in May 2023.”
“It continues its rise in 2024 with a peak that has not yet been reached in March,” writes Public Health France.
The health agency indicates that five babies have died from this disease since the beginning of the year, “an unusually high number” since the annual average of deaths is 1.8.
These are five babies under one year old, four of them who died “in the first days of life” due to a maternal infection and one eight months old without comorbidity or immunosuppression. “Although it remains low, the number of deaths still needs to be controlled,” warns Public Health France.
Risk to the fetus
Parvovirus B19 can cause erythema infectiosum or megaleritema epidemica, often called “fifth disease” because it is the fifth viral infection (along with measles, rubella, chickenpox, and roseola) to cause a rash in children.
This disease, transmitted through the respiratory route (droplets, sneezing, etc.), is usually benign. In children it causes moderate fever, headache or cold and rash on the body. Additionally, on the face, children develop a characteristic redness of the cheeks.
However, this virus can have more serious consequences for immunocompromised people and people with chronic anemia, but also for pregnant women. In fact, when a woman contracts parvovirus B19 during pregnancy, the virus can cross the placenta and directly infect the fetus.
The most feared complication is fetal anemia, which can cause complications and even miscarriage. Additionally, parvovirus B19 can affect the fetus’s cardiovascular system, increasing the risk of heart problems after birth.
Increased traffic
French Public Health warns this Monday of the increased circulation of the virus, with a “number of cases of serious infections” on the rise, according to emergency and intensive care doctors. The health agency was especially alerted by “an unusual number of serious pediatric hospitalizations” at the Necker hospital in Paris last summer.
“Some perinatal services indicate an increase in spontaneous abortions and fetal deaths related to parvovirus B19 infection,” indicates Public Health France. Figures supported by “laboratory data show positive tests for parvovirus B19 in amniotic fluid samples.”
These levels are higher than those recorded last year before the Covid-19 pandemic, a reference point for many infectious diseases. Around one hundred children under 15 years of age go to the emergency room every week for suspected parvovirus B19 infection, compared to less than ten last year during the same period.
“Immunity debt”
As Public Health France notes, other countries such as Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Israel are also experiencing an increase in parvovirus B19 infections.
At the moment, “the reasons for this epidemic have not been clearly established,” indicate the health authorities. However, this resurgence could be related to “the lifting of health measures” during the health crisis, in particular barrier gestures and confinements.
In short, an “immune debt” has been established, meaning that we have been in less contact with parvovirus B19 during this period and are therefore now more vulnerable to it and more likely to contract it.
Source: BFM TV
