A child is suffering from a fever and has reddish cheeks, arms, and thighs. The rash intensifies upon exposure to the sun. What is the likely infectious agent?

What will be an ideal response?


The child is probably infected with B19 virus. The absence of sore throat and swollen lymph nodes rules out HHV-6. Also, the rash of HHV-6 is pinkish rather than red. The aggravation of the rash by sunlight is also consistent with fifth disease (one of the names for disease caused by B19 virus). The appearance of the rash is also not consistent with HHV-3 infection (chickenpox), in which the rash is spotty and progresses to vesicles. The absence of symptoms other than fever and rash largely rules out other childhood illnesses that produce a rash.

Biology & Microbiology

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