ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the clinical and virological aspects of erythema infectiosum (EI). On reflection, it seemed that an erythematous rash illness was the only specific illness in otherwise healthy individuals that might represent the common clinical manifestation of human parvovirus (B19) virus infection. The rash illness most closely resembled EI but there were some atypical features. Each serum specimen was tested for B19 virus deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by a dot hybridization technique and for parvovirus antigen by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The specimens which had been collected for virus isolation were also tested for B19 virus DNA and one throat swab yielded a positive result. The atypical features of the Winnipeg outbreak suggested that B19 virus was capable of causing rash illness other than classical EI. Overall B19 virus infection may be asymptomatic, may cause a mild "flu-like" illness, or may be associated with sporadic cases, family clusters, or larger outbreaks of erythematous rash illness.
