Healthy Person

pink_princess

Fifth disease is a viral illness caused by parvovirus B19. Fifth disease is also known as "erythema infectiosum" and "slapped cheek disease." The clinical illness was described in the 1880s and was named fifth disease because of its position in the numerical classification of childhood illnesses associated with rashes (exanthems). Other numbered diseases included measles, scarlet fever, and rubella—and these did not get renamed until the molecular era, when it became possible to isolate viruses and bacteria. Fifth disease was number five of six diseases named. It is a very common infection, and almost 50% of adults have been infected with the virus but do not remember having it because it often does not cause symptoms.
Though fifth disease generally occurs in children between 4-10 years of age, it can affect any age group, including adults. It most commonly occurs during the winter and spring. The illness classically begins with a low-grade fever and malaise (a sense of not feeling well). After about a week, this is followed by a characteristic bright red rash on the cheeks (the so called "slapped cheeks" rash). Finally, after three to four days, a fine, red, lacelike rash can develop over the rest of the body. This rash may last for five days to a week and occasionally comes and goes for up to three weeks. The other symptoms are usually gone by the time the rash appears, and patients with the rash are usually not contagious. Unfortunately, as with many other viral illnesses, the features and timing of the different stages of illness are not always predictable.

K1nS

When I was working in a nursery a few years ago, a child had this. It is very harmful for pregnant women too as it can effect their unborn child