Parvovirus B19-associated acute myocarditis in paediatric patients

- Background: Viral aetiology of acute myocarditis has been proposed by many authors. Parvovirus B19 (PVB19) has recently emerged as a potential pathogen associated with myocarditis in adults. In this report, we describe four paediatric patients with acute myocarditis due to PVB19 infection.— Patients and Methods: Four children (three males and one female), aged between 7 and 18 months who were suffering from acute myocarditis were enrolled. Heart biopsies were collected, after acquiring written informed consent. Blood, serum and endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) were tested for most common viral agents. PVB19 DNA was evaluated by nested PCR analysis. — Results: Each patient presented with mild anemia and fever. Myocarditis was associated with the presence of PVB19 DNA in EMB in all cases; in fact, PVB19-specific DNA sequences were repeatedly found in all heart biopsies by nested-PCR, amplifying NS viral region. No other cardiotropic viruses were found.— Conclusions: PVB19 infection could be responsible for a variety of acute and chronic diseases, including acutemyocarditis, in paediatric cases. As a consequence, it is critical to investigate the presence of PVB19 in any cases of myocarditis of unknown aetiology in children.