Question:medium
Non-immune hydrops fetalis is caused by:
Non-immune hydrops fetalis is caused by:
Show Hint
Which virus wipes out fetal red-cell precursors and causes severe anaemia?
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- CMV
- Parvovirus
- HSV
- HIV
Show Solution
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The clue is the word non-immune, which removes Rh and other blood-group antibody causes and points toward infection, cardiac, or chromosomal causes. Among the four viruses listed, only one has a direct mechanism that produces hydrops, and that is Parvovirus B19.
Mechanism in plain terms: Parvovirus B19 has a strong tropism for the red-cell precursors in the fetal bone marrow. It shuts down their division, the fetus stops making red cells, and a deep anaemia develops. The struggling fetal heart then pumps harder to compensate, tips into high-output failure, and fluid leaks into the skin, abdomen, and chest, producing hydrops.
The other viruses do not fit. CMV harms the fetus mainly through brain calcifications, small head, and poor growth, not through this red-cell wipeout. HSV and HIV are not standard causes of non-immune hydrops at all.
So the answer is Parvovirus.
\[\boxed{\text{Parvovirus}}\]
Mechanism in plain terms: Parvovirus B19 has a strong tropism for the red-cell precursors in the fetal bone marrow. It shuts down their division, the fetus stops making red cells, and a deep anaemia develops. The struggling fetal heart then pumps harder to compensate, tips into high-output failure, and fluid leaks into the skin, abdomen, and chest, producing hydrops.
The other viruses do not fit. CMV harms the fetus mainly through brain calcifications, small head, and poor growth, not through this red-cell wipeout. HSV and HIV are not standard causes of non-immune hydrops at all.
So the answer is Parvovirus.
\[\boxed{\text{Parvovirus}}\]
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