Roseola is a common childhood disease.
The classic presentation is a 9 to 12 month old child who acutely develops a high fever and often a febrile seizure. After 3 days, there is a rapid defervescence and a morbilliform rash appears. Like other herpes viruses, HHV-6 will then remain latent in most immunocompetent patients. Although it is uncommonly associated with clinical disease in the immunocompetent, HHV-6 is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the immunosuppressed, particularly in AIDS patients and transplant recipients. In the primary infection, there is a replication of the virus in leukocytes and salivary glands.