Persistent B19 infection in immunocompetent individuals: implications for transfusion safety.

Recent reports suggested that parvovirus B19 (B19) might persist in immunocompetent individuals such as blood donors, but only cross-sectional data were available. Serial samples from a cohort of multitransfused patients with hemoglobinopathies and a cross-sectional population of pregnant women were tested for B19 markers. Of 76 red cell recipients, 6 (8%) had persistent viral DNA for 1 to 3 or more years, depending on the sensitivity of the genomic amplification assay.