Human parvovirus B 19 and Epstein-Barr virus co-infection in a child with hereditary spherocytosis

Background: In patients with chronic congenital haemolytic disorders, human Parvovirus B19 (HPV B19) is frequently involved in pure red-cell aplastic crises. Furthermore, it may inhibit three-lineage haematopoiesis in the bone marrow, causing severe pancytopenia. In such patients, Epstein Barr virus (EBV) infection also seems to share the same mechanism as HPV B19 in inducing bone marrow aplasia, but at present the clinical effect of an infection sus- tained by both viruses is unknown. Clinical Report: We present a 7-year-old boy affected by hereditary spherocytosis (HS) who suffered from transient aplastic crisis, in whom laboratory findings revealed a double HPV B19 and EBV infection. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first report of a case of HPV B19 and EBV co-in- fection diagnosis in a paediatric patient. Despite underlying HS, no signs of haemolytic anaemia were detected, but the infection only produced transient pancytopenia. Nevertheless, the rea- son why there was no additive effect of the two viruses on the aplastic crisis is still unclear.