After Arianna getting this I have been doing some research on the net as I had never heard of it... it's acyually very common in kiddies so thought I would post what I found on it...
Introduction
Slapped cheek syndrome is a virus that only affects humans. It is also known as erythema infectiosum or fifth disease, because it is the fifth most common disease caused by a rash in children. Slapped cheek syndrome is caused by a virus called parvovirus B19.
The symptoms of slapped cheek syndrome can vary from a minor illness, possibly with headache, mild fever and sore throat, to erythema infectiosum, which produces a typical rash that appears on the cheeks, hence its name 'slapped cheek'.
It is thought that 60% of all adults in the UK have been infected with parvovirus B19 at some point. It usually affects people when they are children, between the ages of 4-12 years old. An increase in the number of infections occurs every 3-4 years, usually in schoolchildren.
Once you have had the infection, it is likely you will be immune to the virus.
Although parvovirus B19 can affect animals (canine parvovirus and feline panleukopenia virus), slapped cheek syndrome is only known to affect humans. The virus cannot pass from human to animal or vice versa.
Symptoms
In 20-30% of cases of slapped cheek syndrome, there are no symptoms at all. In children, the symptoms can often go unnoticed.
The incubation period of slapped cheek syndrome is between 4-20 days. Physical symptoms are not usually present during the contagious stages of the virus. People infected with slapped cheek syndrome can pass it on without knowing during the early part of the illness but, when the rash appears, you or your child are no longer contagious to others.
The following symptoms may develop when you have slapped cheek syndrome:
mild fever or flu-like symptoms,
headache,
stuffy or runny nose,
sore throat,tiredness,
in a few children there may be nausea,
abdominal pain, and diarrhoea,
adults sometimes develop aches and pains in their joints, and in rare cases, brain (neurological) or heart circulation (cardiovascular) problems have been reported in adults.
A distinctive blotchy red rash may begin to appear on your face, which gives the appearance of 'slapped cheeks'. In most cases, the rash is not painful. However, it may become itchy, and spread to your body and limbs, and can sometimes affect the palms of your hands and soles of your feet. The rash can take between 1-3 weeks to clear and, during this time, it may appear to fade or get worse. It may also recur some time later if you have had increased exposure to sunlight or heat.
Slapped cheek syndrome in pregnancy
If you catch parvovirus B19 while you are pregnant, there is only a small chance that it will affect your baby. If you are infected in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, there is a 15% increased risk of miscarriage. If you are infected in weeks 9-20, there is also a 3% risk that your baby will develop foetal hydrops. This is a serious condition that can cause congestive heart failure, a severe form of oedema (swelling of body tissues caused by excessive fluid) due to severe anaemia (lack of red blood cells in your blood affecting oxygen levels). In some cases, the baby recovers and has no lasting problems.
Causes
Slapped cheek syndrome is transferred from person to person through the air, in saliva or through close contact, such as through coughing and sneezing. This means it can rapidly spread through schools or nurseries easily. Occasionally, it is transmitted through blood products, but this only happens in a small minority of cases during pregnancy.
Although the virus can affect animals (canine parvovirus and feline panleukopenia virus), parvovirus B19 is the only known human form of the virus. The virus cannot pass from human to animal or vice versa.
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