Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded lung and liver tissue from 23 cases of
non immune hydrops fetalis and five control cases, in which hydrops
were due to syphilis (3) and genetic causes (2), were examined for the
presence of human parvovirus B19 by DNA hybridisation. Using in situ
hybridisation with a biotynilated probe one positive case was detected.
Using 32P- labelled probes in a dot blot assay format, five further
positives were obtained. These were all confirmed as positive by a
nested polymerase chain reaction assay. Electron microscopy revealed
virus in all these five positive cases. The six B19 DNA positive cases
of hydrops fetalis were from 1974, 1980, 1982, 1987 and 1988, four of
which occurred during the second half of the year, confirming the
seasonality of the disease