Some generalizations can be drawn from a review of virus-associated bone marrow failure. The story of B19 parvovirus illustrates that viral infection may be an occult cause of marrow failure. Although the epidemiology of transient aplastic crisis suggested a viral aetiology, the implication of a single virus was surprising; the sporadic appearance of chronic bone marrow failure in immunosuppressed persons has had none of the features of a viral illness. The incrimination of parvovirus in these cases required development of specific immunological and molecular assays. Human and animal retrovirus studies have shown that small changes in the virus genome can have dramatic effects on the biology of the infectious agent and its pathogenicity in infected hosts. In Epstein-Barr virus infection, the host's immune response may play a more important role in mediating disease than virus cytotoxicity. Finally, the association of aplastic anaemia with hepatitis may be underestimated because of the inability to diagnose virus infection without obvious liver disease. The true spectrum of bone marrow disease due to virus infection is not known.