Parvovirus 4 in Individuals with Severe Hemophilia A and Matched Control Group

Background: Hemophilia is a well-known bleeding disorder with worldwide distribution. Replacement therapy, using plasma-derived or recombinant coagulation factors, comprises a gold standard regimen for the treatment. Regardless of the advancements made in viral inactivation methods in the production of plasma-derived coagulation factors, the possibility of transmission of new viral infections remained as a noticeable concern yet. The aim of the current study was to investigate the status of parvovirus 4 (PARV4) in severe hemophilia A, von Willebrand disease (vWD), and healthy control. Materials and Methods: In the current case-control study, 76 patients with hemophilia and vWD and 60 individuals from their family members entered the study. Nested PCR used to determine the presence of PARV4 in study subjects (76 cases). To characterize the PARV4 genotype, positive samples subjected to sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Results: PARV4 genome detected in 11 (14.47%) patients with bleeding disorders. Among whom, nine patients (14.75%) were with severe hemophilia A and two (13.33%) patients with vWD. Only five healthy controls (8.33%) were positive for PARV4. All PARV4 sequences were found to be genotype 1. Conclusion: PARV4 infection in patients with hemophilia and vWD was higher than the control group. While detection of PARV4 DNA in patients with bleeding disorders may not necessarily reflect a clinical urgency, future investigations are needed to define the clinical significance of PARV4. It seems the detection of the virus immune signature of PARV4 infection, particularly in the context of acute and persistent infections, needs to focus on cellular and tissue targets.

First report of human parvovirus 4 detection in Iran

Parvovirus 4 (PARV4) is an emerging and intriguing virus that currently received many attentions. High prevalence of PARV4 infection in high-risk groups such as HIV infected patients highlights the potential clinical outcomes that this virus might have. Molecular techniques were used to determine both the presence and the genotype of circulating PARV4 on previously collected serum samples from 133 HIV infected patients and 120 healthy blood donors. Nested PCR was applied to assess the presence of PARV4 DNA genome in both groups. PARV4 DNA was detected in 35.3% of HIV infected patients compared to 16.6% healthy donors. To genetically characterize the PARV4 genotype in these groups, positive samples were randomly selected and subjected for sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. All PARV4 sequences were found to be genotype 1 and clustered with the reference sequences of PARV4 genotype 1. J. Med. Virol. 88:1314-1318, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.