Manifestations and treatment of human parvovirus B19 infection in immunocompromised patients

We diagnosed infections from human parvovirus B19 in three patients by using dot-blot hybrodization and a polymerase chain reaction to detect B19 DNA and using an enzyme immunoassay to detect IgG and IgM to B19. For 5 months a 5-year-old boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission had anemia without reticulocytes or bone marrow erythrocyte precursors. His serum lacked IgG and IgM to B19 but contained B19 DNA. He received gamma globulin intravenously (0.4 gm/kg/day for 5 days); his viremia promptly cleared and reticulocytosis developed. A 14-year-old boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission had fever, rash, neutropenia (