RT Book, Section A1 Aziz, Natali A1 Norton, Mary E. A2 Stevenson, David K. A2 Cohen, Ronald S. A2 Sunshine, Philip SR Print(0) ID 1109796506 T1 Parvovirus B19 Infection T2 Neonatology: Clinical Practice and Procedures YR 2015 FD 2015 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9780071763769 LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1109796506 RD 2024/10/08 AB Human parvovirus B19, a single-stranded DNA virus, is a member of the erythrovirus genus within the Parvoviridae family and the only erythrovirus that is a pathogen in humans.1 Human parvovirus was first identified by electron microscopy in 1975 and was associated with clinical disease approximately a decade later.2 It is the etiologic organism that manifests clinically as erythema infectiosum (fifth disease), a common childhood viral exanthem. In immunocompetent adults, infection with B19 is generally asymptomatic or mild. It is most commonly transmitted through respiratory droplets, and primary B19 infection in pregnant women can also result in vertical transmission to the fetus. Although most commonly asymptomatic for both mother and fetus, in some cases primary or acute infection in pregnancy may lead to adverse perinatal outcomes, including spontaneous abortion, hydrops fetalis, and fetal demise.