If your child comes home with ruddy cheeks this back-to-school season, their flushed appearance may be due to something other than having had recess in the late-summer heat. They may be infected with parvovirus B19, a disease spreading nationwide that causes a “slapped cheek” rash in children.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week issued a health advisory on the seasonal respiratory virus, also called fifth disease or erythema infectiosum. While the virus isn’t under routine surveillance like COVID-19, the CDC warned the public of increasing viral activity in the U.S. on the heels of “unusually high numbers of cases” in Europe earlier this year.
