'Slapped Cheek' virus: CDC issues warning over spike in human parvovirus cases

Health quotes Mark Hicar in an article on the symptoms of human parvovirus in children. One of these symptoms, called “slapped cheek syndrome” or “fifths disease,” creates a telltale rash on the cheeks of young children. The name, Hicar explains, is a historical reference. “Many years ago—late 19th century—before the bacteria and viruses were figured out, the common rash illnesses of children were given numbers. Only parvovirus B19 still retains this reference for unknown reasons,” Hicar said.