Seroepidemiology of human bocavirus in Apulia, Italy

• Published in: Clinical microbiology and infection Vol. 18; no. 4; pp. E74 - E76
• Main Authors: Guido, M., Zizza, A., Bredl, S., Lindner, J., De Donno, A., Quattrocchi, M., Grima, P., Modrow, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2012; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Antigens, Viral - immunology; Capsid Proteins - immunology; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Human bocavirus; Human bocavirus - immunology; Human bocavirus - isolation & purification; Human bocavirus - pathogenicity; Humans; IgG antibody; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Infant; Infection; Italy - epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Parvoviridae Infections - epidemiology; Parvoviridae Infections - immunology; Parvoviridae Infections - virology; Prevalence; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Seroepidemiology; Serological surveys; seroprevalence; Virus-like particles; Young Adult; Italy; seroprevalence; virus-like particles; IgG antibody; Human bocavirus
• ISSN: 1198-743X; 1469-0691
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2011.03756.x

A serological survey was performed to determine the prevalence of antibodies against human bocavirus in an Apulian population. Anti-hBoV IgG antibodies were analysed in 1206 inhabitants (age range, 1 month–84 years) using a standardized ELISA test based on the use of recombinant hBoV VP2 virus-like particles. In total, 1075 (89.1%) of 1206 participants (mean age 32 ± 24.8 years) displayed anti-hBoV-IgG. The seroprevalence increased significantly (p < 0.0001) in children from 2–4 years (64.2%) to 5–9 years (96.4%). A similar trend was observed in both male and female subjects. In conclusion, our results show that hBoV infection is common in this population, especially in children.