Abstract
A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out on peripheral blood samples obtained from 92 febrile adult patients with rheumatic disease in our clinic during 1999–2001 to detect B19 DNA (B19 viraemia); an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was carried out on serum samples from the patients to detect anti-B19 IgM. Informed consent was obtained from …