a mild infectious disease of childhood, caused by a virus, characterized by fever and a red rash spreading from the cheeks to the limbs and trunk
Also called: slapped-cheek disease. Technical name: erythema infectiosum
Word origin
C20: from its being among the five most common childhood infections
fifth disease in American English
noun
Pathology
a mild infection, most often seen in children or young adults, caused by a small virus (the human parvovirus B19) and marked by a blotchy rash on the cheeks, arms, and legs
Also called: erythema infectiosum
Word origin
[so called because it was the fifth in a classification scheme of childhood eruptivediseases]
Examples of 'fifth disease' in a sentence
fifth disease
The label can upset parents, who imagine a call from social services, so we use alternative names such as 'parvovirus' or 'fifth disease'.
The Sun (2015)
The label can upset parents, who imagine a call from social services, so we use alternativenames such as 'parvovirus' or 'fifth disease'.