Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2011, 224(1)

Adult Human Parvovirus-B19 Infection Presenting with Hearing Difficulty and Dizziness

MASAYUKI NARA,¹ YUKO SHIRATA,¹ TOSHIAKI KIKUCHI² and MICHIO HONGO¹

¹Division of Comprehensive Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai, Japan
²Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai, Japan

Human parvovirus B19 (HPV-B19), a small and non-enveloped DNA virus, causes erythema infectiosum (EI) in children. In adults, however, it is known to cause a variety of symptoms. A 39-year-old woman visited our hospital because of low-grade fever, diarrhea, bilateral leg edema, and numbness in the right arm, one and a half months after her daughter developed EI. We diagnosed her as HPV-B19 infection after her daughter's history and positive test for serum HPV-B19 IgM antibody, together with the continued observations. Two weeks later, she developed dizziness and left hearing difficulty. However, we did not give her any medication. HPV-B19 IgM antibody value (2.4) measured after one month of the onset was decreased to 1.7, 1.1, and 0.9 after two, three, and five months of the onset, respectively. Thus, it took 5 months for the IgM antibody value to become negative. Her symptoms gradually improved along with the decrease in HPV-B19 antibody without any medication. Hearing difficulty and dizziness are not categorized as manifestations of HPV-B19 infection, because these symptoms are very rare. The present report indicates that the symptoms related to inner ear dysfunctions should be added to those associated with adult HPV-B19 infection. In conclusion, we should consider HPV-B19 infection when we evaluate patients with causeless hearing difficulty and dizziness.

keywords —— HPV-B19; IgM antibody; immune complex; ear symptoms; erythema infectiosum

© 2011 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2011, 224, 57-59

Correspondence: Masayuki Nara, M.D., Ph.D., Division of Comprehensive Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Tohoku University Hospital, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan.

e-mail: nara@hosp.tohoku.ac.jp