Males and females are infected equally. Arthropathy is more common in women. Women may be affected by complications during pregnancy. PV-B19 infection can lead to the classic symptoms of erythema infectiosum in adults but more often manifests as an acute arthropathy without cutaneous eruption. Erythema infectiosum typically has an incubation period of 4-14 days and is spread primarily via aerosolized respiratory droplets.
Transmission also occurs through blood products and from mother to fetus.
The prodromal phase often is mild enough to be noticed only rarely but may include headache, coryza, low-grade fever, pharyngitis, and malaise. Infrequently, nausea, diarrhea, arthralgias, and abdominal pain may occur. In immunocompetent hosts, the patient is viremic and capable of spreading the infection only during the incubation period. Classic cutaneous findings follow within 3-7 days for some patients, while other patients may manifest no findings. Pertinent physical findings predominantly are limited to the skin and joints.