Objective: A significant increase in Parvovirus B 19 (B19V) infections has been reported in the last months in some European countries. This outbreak could be highly detrimental for pregnant women, considering the capacity of the virus to harm the fetus. However, the magnitude and spread of this outbreak is yet unclear. There is the need for more evidence from other areas and focusing on pregnancy. Methods: Pregnant women with B19V infection who were managed in a referral hospital located in Milan, Northern Italy were reviewed. The primary aim was recording the frequency of ascertained cases of B19V infection in the period January-July 2024 and comparing these data to the frequencies recorded in the previous 9 years (2015-2023). The secondary aim of the study was comparing the severity of the infections in these two periods. Results: The number of B19V infections markedly increased in the first 7 months of 2024. Until 2023, the number of cases per year were below 7, with no cases reported in 2020-2022, while in the period January-July 2024, the number raised to 59 (p<0.001). Maternal characteristics and fetal outcomes before and after January 2024 did not differ. Conclusions: Italy is also involved in the ongoing outbreak of B19V infection and pregnant women are exposed to this threat. Public health authorities must promptly engage to monitor the situation and consider the possibility to introduce universal screening and global preventive measures, at least up to the end of the surge.

Currently, the adherence to nutritional guidelines is critically low, with alarming rates of obesity worldwide and micronutrient deficiencies documented even in industrialized countries. As a consequence, nutritional screening and counselling represent a critical subject in early pregnancy, aiming to improve pregnancy outcome and population health. In this setting, the development of a simple and reproducible nutritional checklist is of utmost importance. The Simple Study is a longitudinal prospective multicenter study aiming to identify the associations between nutritional habits in the first trimester, early markers of placental function, and pregnancy outcome on a large population of singleton pregnancies in Italy. Ongoing healthy singleton pregnancies will be enrolled at the ultrasound scan of the first trimester combined screening test (11+0-13+6 gestational weeks). A nutritional score measuring the adherence to a healthy diet and nutritional deficiencies will be collected at recruitment. Fetal (crown-rump length, nuchal translucency, biparietal diameter, femur length) and utero-placental (placental volume, uterine arteries Doppler velocimetry) ultrasound data and biochemical placental markers (Pregnancy Associated Plasma Protein A (PAPP-A), free ß-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)) will be collected. Second and third trimester ultrasound records and birth outcomes will be recorded from medical registers. The present study will set the stage for introducing a reproducible, time-saving and low-cost nutritional screening in pregnancy. The nutritional score will allow the implementation of specific corrective measures with potential large impact on placentation and pregnancy outcome.