Feb 9, 09 | Posted by: David Melbye, M.D.

Fifth’s Disease

I have seen three children with Fifth’s disease this week so I thought I would pass along some information about it.  There are also diseases 1-4 and 6, but I won’t bore you with those details.

Fifth’s disease is a viral illness most common in children ages 3-12.  The name of the virus is Parvovirus B19.  The diagnostic symptom is a bright red rash on the cheeks and a spotted lacy pink/red rash on the arms, neck, chest and back.  The cheeks look as though they have been “slapped”.  The rash can itch.  Most kids have 3-4 days of fever, body aches, headache and general grumpyness before the onset of the rash.   The rash resolves by itself in 1-3 weeks but can recur or flare in warm temperatures for awhile afterwards.  The typical incubation period before the start of symptoms is 6-14 days.

This illness is most common in late winter and early spring (is it early spring?) and is completely harmless unless you or your child have certain types of inherited anemia including Sickle Cell disease or are pregnant.  If you are pregnant don’t worry too much because chances are you had Fifth’s disease as a kid and are immune to it now, you only get it once.  Most OB’s test for antibodies to Parvovirus B19 as part of the initial pregnancy labs so you can give your OB a call if you are wondering.  Even if you are pregnant, not immune, and get exposed to Fifth’s disease there is only an 8% chance you will get sick.  If you do get sick, there is still only a 3-5% chance anything will happen to your baby, but you should talk to your OB because they will want to follow up with you. 

Now before all of you adults run out and try to expose yourself to Fifth’s disease you should know that when adults get this they usually have significant arthritis and can be very uncomfortable for 1-3 weeks.  One of my friends from high school got Fifth’s disease last spring and she was miserable.  She was also impressed when I diagnosed her over the phone, and she’s not easily impressed by me because she has known me since high school.  Of course I didn’t mention to her that it is a very common illness that any doctor could easily diagnose.

There is no treatment necessary for Fifth’s disease.  You can give your kids benadryl if they are itchy, especially at night so they can sleep.  Hydrocortisone or other over the counter anti-itch creams may also be helpful.  Most importantly once the rash starts kids are not contagious and can go to school and other activities.  They already exposed everyone before you knew they were sick….viruses are tricky that way.

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