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Source: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/human-parvovirus-b19-spreading-cdc-advisory
CDC Warns of Rising Parvovirus Cases. Pregnant People, Immunocompromised at High Risk
Written by Andrea Rice on August 16, 2024 — Fact checked by Jennifer Chesak, MSJ
The CDC issued an alert over rising human parvovirus B19 cases, also known as “fifth disease” and “slapped-cheek disease.”
Most cases are generally mild and occur in children, leading to a fever and trademark bumpy red rash on the face or elsewhere on the body.
Pregnant people and immunocompromised individuals face the highest risk of parvovirus-related complications.
Currently, there is no vaccine against this infectious disease.
A highly transmissible virus you may have never heard of is circulating as summer draws to a close.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently received reports of human parvovirus B19 activity among people of all ages in the United States, notably children.
Clusters of parvovirus-related complications among pregnant people and people with sickle cell disease were also identified.
“In the first quarter of 2024, public health authorities in 14 European countries observed unusually high numbers of cases of parvovirus B19,” a CDC health adivsory reported on August 13. “In the United States, there is no routine surveillance for parvovirus B19, and it is not a notifiable condition.”
The CDC’s alert advises healthcare professionals to screen high risk patients presenting associated symptoms, which include fever and unexplained anemia, and the trademark rash that gave this disease its “slapped cheek” nickname.
CDC Warns of Rising Parvovirus Cases. Pregnant People, Immunocompromised at High Risk
Written by Andrea Rice on August 16, 2024 — Fact checked by Jennifer Chesak, MSJ
The CDC issued an alert over rising human parvovirus B19 cases, also known as “fifth disease” and “slapped-cheek disease.”
Most cases are generally mild and occur in children, leading to a fever and trademark bumpy red rash on the face or elsewhere on the body.
Pregnant people and immunocompromised individuals face the highest risk of parvovirus-related complications.
Currently, there is no vaccine against this infectious disease.
A highly transmissible virus you may have never heard of is circulating as summer draws to a close.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently received reports of human parvovirus B19 activity among people of all ages in the United States, notably children.
Clusters of parvovirus-related complications among pregnant people and people with sickle cell disease were also identified.
“In the first quarter of 2024, public health authorities in 14 European countries observed unusually high numbers of cases of parvovirus B19,” a CDC health adivsory reported on August 13. “In the United States, there is no routine surveillance for parvovirus B19, and it is not a notifiable condition.”
The CDC’s alert advises healthcare professionals to screen high risk patients presenting associated symptoms, which include fever and unexplained anemia, and the trademark rash that gave this disease its “slapped cheek” nickname.