co-prevalence of human parvovirus 4 and primate erythroparvovirus 1 (b19) in sickle cell disease and healthy populations

Background: human parvovirus 4 (p4) is a non-enveloped, single-stranded dna virus belonging to the tetraparvovirus genus within the parvoviridae family. epidemiologically, p4 exhibits similarities with its well-established family member, primate erythroparvovirus 1 (known as b19), a blood-borne virus implicated in causing aplastic crises in individuals with sickle cell disease (scd). despite the acknowledged association with b19, there is a dearth of prior investigations into the prevalence and clinical significance of p4 in scd patients. objectives: this study aims to ascertain the prevalence and outcomes of p4, along with exploring the co-prevalence of p4 with b19 in individuals with scd. methods: a total of 165 participants were enrolled, comprising 120 individuals with scd and 45 healthy controls. the prevalence of p4 and b19 dna was determined utilizing a nested-pcr method. sequencing was performed on positive samples to validate the diagnosis, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the sequencing results. correlations in the data were analyzed using statistical methods. results: the prevalence of p4 and b19, as well as the co-prevalence of these viruses, was significantly higher in scd patients than in healthy individuals. moreover, the prevalence of p4 did not exhibit a significant correlation with variables such as age, sex, aplastic crises, or specific complications associated with scd. conclusions: sickle cell disease patients represent a susceptible population for p4 infection, as indicated by the heightened prevalence observed in this study.