Parvovirus B19 has been associated with a growing number of diseases. Besides the frequent manifestations such as erythema infectiosum, aplastic crisis in persons with underlying haemolytic anaemia, hydrops fetalis in pregnant women and acute or chronic arthritis a range of rather rare diseases have been described in recent reports.1 Among them are case reports on persistent parvovirus B19 infection in immune incompetent people, encephalitis, myocarditis, systemic lupus erythematosus (reviewed by Anderson and Young1) and rheumatoid arthritis.2Furthermore, parvovirus B19 has been suspected to play a part in the aetiology of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR).3 ,4 Because of the acute onset of PMR and its systemic symptoms an infectious cause may be a relevant factor. Additionally, autoimmune processes have been demonstrated in both, PMR and parvovirus B19 infection.5 ,6 As the receptor for parvovirus B19, the P-blood group antigen (globoside), is also present on endothelial cells an interrelation between parvovirus B19 and giant cell arteritis or PMR may be possible.

Parvovirus B19 can only replicate in erythroid precursor cells in …