Just as back-to-school season gets underway, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an alert about an increasing number of cases of parvovirus B19, especially in younger children.
The virus is common and can cause flu-like symptoms.
Patients may feel achy or have a runny nose, and some will develop a rash on their face that turns their cheeks bright red.
It spreads easily when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
“Parvovirus B19 is highly transmissible in respiratory droplets, with 50% of susceptible people infected after household exposure and 20–50% of susceptible students and staff infected during school outbreaks,” the CDC said in its advisory.
Lab tests nationwide have shown an increase in the proportion of people with antibodies, which are an indicator of recent infection.
The proportion “increased among all ages” from around 3% between 2022 and 2024 to 10% in June 2024. The greatest increase was observed among children aged 5 to 9, from 15% between 2022 and 2024 to 40% in June 2024, according to the CDC.
“There’s no specific treatment,” said Dr. Glenn Wortmann, chief of infectious diseases at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. “It just goes away on its own after about 10 days or so.”
About 25% of people actually won’t have any symptoms at all.
Generally, the virus is not serious, although it can cause problems during pregnancy or for anyone with a compromised immune system.
“Kids are going back to school and they’re going to be with one another, so we may see a bump in cases,” Wortmann said. “Traditionally, it’s been one of those infections that schoolteachers would get because they’re around sick kids and the kids give it to their teachers.”
Cases haven’t only been rising in the United States, either.
“In the first quarter of 2024, public health authorities in 14 European countries observed unusually high numbers of cases of parvovirus B19,” the CDC said.
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