ERYTHEMA INFECTIOSUM

Course overview

ERYTHEMA INFECTIOSUM, ALSO KNOWN AS FIFTH DISEASE, IS A COMMON VIRAL EXANTHEM CAUSED BY PARVOVIRUS B19. IT IS COMMONLY SEEN IN CHILDREN BETWEEN FIVE AND FIFTEEN YEARS OLD, ESPECIALLY IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER MONTHS. IT IS ONE OF THE SIX MOST COMMON VIRAL RASHES IN CHILDREN. IT CAN ALSO AFFECT ADULTS, HOWEVER THIS IS LESS COMMON. ROUTE OF TRANSMISSION IS PRIMARILY VIA DROPLETS FROM RESPIRATORY SECRETIONS, ALTHOUGH IT CAN BE SPREAD HEMATOGENOUSLY. SYMPTOM CONTROL AND SUPPORTIVE MANAGEMENT COMPRISE THE BASIS OF TREATMENT OF ERYTHEMA INFECTIOSUM, HOWEVER WHEN THE DISEASE OCCURS IN PREGNANT WOMEN, COMPLICATIONS SUCH AS APLASTIC CRISIS OR HYDROPS FETALIS BECOME REAL CONCERNS AND AN INCREASED LEVEL OF SURVEILLANCE MUST BE UNDERTAKEN. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION, ETIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF ERYTHEMA INFECTIOSUM, AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN CARING FOR PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.