Seroprevalence of erythrovirus B19 IgG antibody among paediatric patients in Makkah and Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of IgG antibodies against B19 virus (B19V) in Makkah and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS B19V-specific IgG antibodies were detected by a commercial indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in sera of 400 paediatric patients (185 males and 215 females) aged 1-17 years. RESULTS Of the 400 patients, 80 (20%) had sera positive for B19V-specific IgG. The difference in the prevalence of the antibodies between genders was not statistically significant (p = 0.9). The prevalence of anti-B19V antibodies increased significantly in the age group of 12-17 years as compared to younger patients (37.5 vs. 18% in those aged 1-11 years; p = 0.006). CONCLUSION This study indicated a high prevalence of IgG antibodies against B19V in paediatric patients with an increase in age.