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The human parvovirus B 19 was discovered in 1975 by Cossart in England. Later (1984) evidence was provided that this virus is the etiological agent of erythema infectiosum and hydrops foetalis, and in 1985 it was provided that it is also the etiological agent of some types of arthritis or arthropaties and vasculitis. The diagnosis of the disease caused by this agent is most frequently based on evidence of specific immunoglobulins. The epidemiological and clinical impact of parvoviral infections in the Czech Republic was not known so far. Examination of sera from 562 subjects aged 0-60 years assembled in 1992 in three Czech regions revealed in children, age 0 - 4 years 9.8%, during preschool and school age 27 - 35.7% and in age groups above 15 years a 53.3 - 57.7% seroprevalence of IgG parvovirus B 19, roughly equally distributed among both sexes. The more frequent prevalence of specific immunoglobulins was proved in small groups of female workers in nurseries (66.7%), nursery schools (91.7%) and in blood transfusion stations (77.8%). The seropositivity of the general female population of matched age groups, with the exception of women aged 20 - 24 years, was 53.86%.