page_title: Parvoviridae
section_title: Diseases
hierarchical_section_title: Parvoviridae / Diseases
caption_attribution_description: English: A child affected with fifth disease.
context_page_description: Parvoviridae is a family of small, rugged, genetically-compact DNA viruses, known collectively as parvoviruses. There are currently more than 100 species in the family, divided among 23 genera in three subfamilies. Parvoviridae is the sole taxon in the order Quintoviricetes.
  Parvovirus B19 was the first pathogenic human parvovirus to be discovered and is best known for causing a childhood exanthem called "fifth disease", although it is also associated with other diseases including arthritis.
  Parvoviruses can infect and may cause disease in many animals, from arthropods such as insects and shrimp, to echinoderms such as starfish, and to mammals including humans. Because most of these viruses require actively dividing cells to replicate, the type of tissue infected varies with the age of the animal. The gastrointestinal tract and lymphatic system can be affected at any age, leading to vomiting, diarrhea, and immunosuppression, but cerebellar hypoplasia is only seen in cats that were infected with feline parvovirus in the womb or at less than two weeks of age, and disease of the myocardium is seen in puppies infected with canine parvovirus 2 between the ages of three and eight weeks.
caption: Child with fifth disease
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