Human bocavirus is detected in human placenta and aborted tissues

BACKGROUND: To date, four human bocaviruses (HBoV) have been described. The most closely related viruses (bovine and canine parvoviruses) are associated with miscarriage in their hosts. The objective of this retrospective study was to determine the frequency of HBoV DNA in miscarriage. STUDY DESIGN: Tissue samples from 172 patients, in which miscarriage occurred, were included and tested with a published qPCR protocol. Positive PCRs were mutually confirmed by sequencing. RESULTS: 43 patients (25%) were positive for HBoV DNA. Of those, the majority of HBoV-positive samples were tissues from miscarriage (placenta: 6; aborted tissue products of conception: 37 specimens). The samples were not paired; either placental or aborted tissue was available. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that, as long as no animal model is available, the role of HBoV in the occurrence of miscarriage requires additional prospective studies in order to investigate its significance and causal involvements of this pathogen.