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From time immemorial, mothers and grandmothers adored ruddy, baby cheeks. After a walk, playing, and running joyfully, the reddened face of the child was bursting with health and pleased the eyes of the caregivers. However, not always ruddy cheeks should be a cause for joy.
Almost every parent has heard or heard the phrase “fifth disease” at least once in their parental “career”. What is this? This is the infectious erythema. The name dates back to the XNUMXth century, when six inflammatory, infectious or allergic rashes were classified for children – and the infectious erythema was ranked fifth.
Infectious erythema – symptoms
Is someone beating my baby? Such a doubt may arise because initially the lesion may look as if someone is giving the child a cheek: only part of the mouth is clearly reddened, clearly demarcated from the rest. Moreover, at first the erythema may appear on only one cheek before it spreads to the other. In general, the disease belongs to the “wandering” because the cheeks are only its first station. Quite quickly (sometimes even within a day) the rash can also appear on the upper and lower extremities. It happens that it also affects the hands, soles of the feet and the torso, but these are rarer cases (often, even in the case of lesions on the chest and arms, they are less red and paler than those on the limbs). Unlike the cheeks, which can be quite uniformly red, the lesions on the limbs and torso take on the appearance of a rather intricate lace mesh with red patterns.
Causes of erythema – B19 virus
What is the cause of the erythema? B19 virus, belonging to the group of parvoviruses. As a rule, children become infected with it from other children, especially in kindergarten or school – the more so because the little carrier “offers” the virus to the environment a good week before the first symptoms appear. Most children become infected with the B19 virus in early spring, when the body is in an immune dimple after winter. During this period, almost epidemics of infectious erythema are observed in kindergartens and younger grades of primary school.
Fortunately, such an epidemic is not dangerous, and neither is the disease itself. The child should stay at home during the period of illness, especially as he often has a fever or low-grade fever – but any specific treatment is not necessary. The body fights the virus on its own, it usually takes about a week. Sometimes you need to give your child anti-itching agents because the lesions can be itchy. You should also not be concerned about the fact that the erythema will recur periodically for several weeks – especially under the influence of sun, stress, exercise, bathing or changes in ambient temperature. It’s normal. After a few weeks, the erythema will disappear, not to return – because childhood disease leaves permanent immunity to the B19 virus for life. Therefore, it is not necessary to use vaccines or other prophylaxis – the disease is mild, without complications and the child is safe.
Infectious erythema in adults – changes in the joints
If we didn’t encounter the B19 virus as a child, then… we were unlucky. A few-year-olds get sick without complications, in adulthood they can already happen. First of all, the disease is much more painful then. An adult does not often suffer from erythema on the skin, but changes in the joints (although sometimes both occur). The B19 virus causes arthropathy in adults, i.e. inflammation of the joints and their acute pains. It most commonly affects the hand and wrist joints and the knee joints. But although the disease is unpleasant and lasts quite a long time – usually about three weeks – it does not require specialist treatment. Also in this case, the body copes on its own, pain and inflammation disappear spontaneously, leaving no permanent changes in the joints. It happens that during the course of the disease you need to use painkillers, the joints are so painful, but this is the worst that can happen to us from B19 and its attack on the joints.
Parvovirus infection in pregnancy
However, pregnant women should be careful with the B19 virus. If at home older children suffer from erythema infectious disease or if a pregnant woman notices symptoms of the disease, she should visit a gynecologist and have the disease under his supervision. However, the virus is not dangerous to the mother herself, but to the child she carries under her heart. Although in most cases contact with the virus and mum’s disease do not have any effect on the unborn baby, it may happen that the fetus becomes infected. This can lead to a serious complication of fetal edema. The problems arise from the fact that the virus can attack red blood cells. If it attacks the baby’s blood cells in the tummy, it can lead to anemia and, as a result, circulatory failure. This is very dangerous for a baby! Therefore, if we have any reason to suspect that the fetus has been infected with parvovirus, it is necessary to perform an ultrasound examination and examine the umbilical cord blood for its presence. If suspicions are confirmed, treatment will be required.
Infection with the B19 virus in immunocompromised people
But while B19 infection is usually mild, it can also be dangerous. For a healthy person it is not a major threat, but for some groups of people it can even be life threatening. This is the case, for example, in the case of patients with AIDS, leukemia or people after bone marrow transplantation. Such people have reduced immunity, their body cannot remove the virus from the bloodstream by itself. And parvovirus not only causes changes in the skin and joints, but also in the blood: it destroys the cells that make red blood cells, leading to chronic anemia. The same applies to people whose body destroys red blood cells by itself – that is, in chronic haemolytic disease. When the virus enters the body, it can cause the so-called blast crisis – that is, causing the bone marrow to completely stop producing red blood cells. In this case, you have to act quickly – on the one hand, perform the fastest possible transfusion, on the other hand, give the patient special immunoglobulins, i.e. ready-made antibodies that destroy the virus.
Text: Hanna Mądra
Also read: Infectious diseases of childhood