The Directorate General of Health has issued advice to health workers caring for pregnant women in response to a rise in cases of parvovirus B19, which can cause death in babies up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
In information available on its website, the General Directorate of Health (DGS), citing preliminary data, indicates that there has been a progressive increase in the number of parvovirus-related hospitalizations since January of this year, with an apparent peak in March.
“An estimated 30-40% of pregnant women may be susceptible to the infection. Infection in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy can lead to serious adverse effects on the fetus, such as anemia, hydrops fetalis and intrauterine death, within 10% of cases,” the State Geographic Society warns.
Therefore, the DGS recommends that healthcare workers inform pregnant women about the transmission of parvovirus B19 and encourage them to take precautions to prevent its spread, especially when in contact with school-aged family members and in the context of working with school-aged children.
They also recommend that pregnant women be asked about their exposure history during prenatal care and other health care during pregnancy.
In child and youth health care consultations or other pediatric care settings, when faced with a diagnosis of parvovirus B19, providers should ask about recent exposure to a pregnant woman, especially in the household.
In case of infection, a pregnant woman should be referred for a follow-up consultation to the primary health care (PHC) department or obstetrics department and prescribed tests.
In children, the most common symptom is erythema infectiosum, characterized by a feverish feeling of malaise, myalgias, diarrhea and headaches, and in adults, peripheral polyarthralgia of the hands, wrists, knees and ankles, which can affect up to 50% of infected pregnant women who are not immune.
According to the DGS, about two-thirds of the population are immune to parvovirus B19 infection due to previous infections (15% of preschool children, 50% of adults and 85% of the elderly).
On June 5, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned of a significant increase in cases of parvovirus B19 infection in nine EU countries since March 2024.
“The ECDC risk assessment identified pregnant women as a population group at low to moderate risk due to their susceptibility to infection and the severity of the clinical picture in a small percentage of infected pregnant women, as well as the impact that infection may have on the foetus, particularly when acquired at less than 20 weeks of gestation,” the DGS said.
ECDC says data at European level are limited as parvovirus B19 is not part of routine national surveillance in many EU countries, including Portugal.
“Although in most cases the pregnancy outcome is favorable, in 1-5% of cases the infection can lead to complications, so special attention should be paid to clinical manifestations, diagnosis and referral if necessary,” the DGS points out.
Parvovirus B19 is transmitted by airborne droplets, hand-to-mouth contact, blood products, bone marrow transplantation, or transplacental transmission.
The incubation period of the virus is four to 14 days after infection, but can last up to three weeks, with the patient considered infectious for five days and may be asymptomatic.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.