The rash may fade away and then come back or get worse when the person is exposed to heat, such as a warm bath or direct sunlight. The rash can persist for several weeks. The rash may not appear at all, or may look different in adults. Adults may have pain in their joints. This may be the only symptom for infected adults.
Fifth disease is usually mild.
Persons whose immune systems do not work well. If a pregnant woman is infected, she can pass the infection on to the developing baby. When this happens in the first half of the pregnancy, there is a very small chance that the baby can die in the womb. This happens very rarely later in pregnancy. Babies born to mothers who were infected while pregnant do NOT have an increased risk of birth defects.