A human parvovirus-like virus inhibits haematopoietic colony formation in vitro

Abstract

Viruses have been shown to cause bone marrow aplasia in animals and have been implicated in bone marrow failure in man; however, until recently, a specific link between human viral infection and bone marrow failure has not been proven. In 1975 Cossart and colleagues found a serum parvovirus-like virus (SPLV, sometimes referred to as B19) in human serum. Antibody to this virus is present in the sera of 30-45% of healthy adults (Y.E. Cossart, P.P. Mortimer, unpublished observations). However, evidence for a direct link came from work by Pattison et al. who found five children with transient aplastic crisis of sickle cell disease and evidence of active infection with SPLV. This association was ..