5th Disease

Gabby had a rash show up on her face yesterday morning. I thought it might have been a sunburn since we were out in the sun Saturday for her softball game. This morning her cheeks were redder and her arms had a touch of the rash too but she was feeling fine and not very itchy. So I sent her to school. Later in the morning I got a call from her school nurse. She suspected 5th disease. 5th disease? I had no idea what that was. By the time I got to the school I could see that her rash had spread quite a bit. Not only that, but Samantha had it on her arms too. Nothing on Katherine though...until we got to the doctor's office and then Katherine started presenting on her arms. Um... okay then.

Well, here is what I learned about 5th disease. This is from an email I sent out to Gabby and Samantha's swim coach, Gabby's softball coach and our primary presidency. I think my kids were all contagious this weekend and we were exposed to lots of other kids! Yikes! I'm just glad it's not meningitis or something scary like that!

5th disease is a viral infection and doesn't show up until the child is likely no longer contagious and a rash appears on their face, arms and torso. The rash looks like a slap on the face, sunburn on the arms and lacy appearance on the torso. The child might have had a headache or fever but might not have had any symptoms. Mine didn't.

My kids have all had the rash break out starting with Gabby yesterday (Sunday) and the other two today so they would likely have been contagious Friday and Saturday and probably Sunday.

Thankfully, I found out that 3rd trimester pregnancy is not affected. I hope we haven't been around anyone in their first trimester. They might need to be checked out.

It was a little scary to me, but knowing more about it and the fact that my kids are all feeling fine except for being a little bit itchy, it's okay. Here's a little more information on 5th disease from kidshealth.org:

What's Fifth Disease?

Especially common in kids between the ages of 5 and 15, fifth disease typically produces a distinctive red rash on the face that makes the child appear to have a "slapped cheek." The rash then spreads to the trunk, arms, and legs. Fifth disease is actually just a viral illness that most kids recover from quickly and without complications.

Fifth disease (also called erythema infectiosum) is caused by parvovirus B19. A human virus, parvovirus B19 is not the same parvovirus that veterinarians may be concerned about in pets, especially dogs, and it cannot be passed from humans to animals or vice versa.

Studies show that although 40% to 60% of adults worldwide have laboratory evidence of a past parvovirus B19 infection, most of these adults can't remember having had symptoms of fifth disease. This leads medical experts to believe that most people with a B19 infection have either very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.

Signs and Symptoms

Fifth disease begins with a low-grade fever, headache, and mild cold-like symptoms (a stuffy or runny nose). These symptoms pass, and the illness seems to be gone until a rash appears a few days later. The bright red rash typically begins on the face. Several days later, the rash spreads and red blotches (usually lighter in color) extend down to the trunk, arms, and legs. The rash usually spares the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. As the centers of the blotches begin to clear, the rash takes on a lacy net-like appearance. Kids younger than 10 years old are most likely to get the rash.

Older kids and adults sometimes complain that the rash itches, but most children with a rash caused by fifth disease do not look sick and no longer have fever. It may take 1 to 3 weeks for the rash to completely clear, and during that time it may seem to worsen until it finally fades away entirely.

Certain stimuli (including sunlight, heat, exercise, and stress) may reactivate the rash until it completely fades. Other symptoms that sometimes occur with fifth disease include swollen glands, red eyes, sore throat, diarrhea, and rarely, rashes that look like blisters or bruises.

In some cases, especially in adults and older teens, an attack of fifth disease may be followed by joint swelling or pain, often in the hands, wrists, knees, or ankles.

Contagiousness

A person with parvovirus infection is most contagious before the rash appears — either during the incubation period (the time between infection and the onset of symptoms) or during the time when he or she has only mild respiratory symptoms. Because the rash of fifth disease is due to an immune reaction (a defense response launched by the body against foreign substances like viruses) that occurs after the infection has passed, a child is usually not contagious once the rash appears.

Parvovirus B19 spreads easily from person to person in fluids from the nose, mouth, and throat of someone with the infection, especially through large droplets from coughs and sneezes.

In households where a child has fifth disease, another family member who hasn't previously had parvovirus B19 has about a 50% chance of also getting the infection. Children with fifth disease may attend childcare or school, since they are no longer contagious. Once infected with parvovirus B19, a person develops immunity to it and won't usually become infected again.

Parvovirus B19 infection during pregnancy may cause problems for the fetus. Some fetuses may develop severe anemia if the mother is infected while pregnant — especially if the infection occurs during the first half of the pregnancy. In some cases, this anemia is so severe that the fetus doesn't survive. Fortunately, about half of all pregnant women are immune from having had a previous infection with parvovirus. Serious problems occur in less than 5% of women who become infected during pregnancy.

Prevention

There is no vaccine for fifth disease, and no real way to prevent spreading the virus. Isolating someone with a fifth disease rash won't prevent spread of the infection because the person usually isn't contagious by that time.

Practicing good hygiene, especially frequent hand washing, is always a good idea since it can help prevent the spread of many infections.