Fifth Disease and Its Possible Complications

While it is rare for the fifth disease to develop complications, the patient's condition when the disease gets complicated can be fatal, too. The most common type of complication that can happen to patients having fifth disease is the progression of erythrocyte aplasia. Such condition refers to the malfunctioning of the bone marrow, as it stops to generate a good number of red blood cells.

Another possible complication that can happen to patients with fifth disease is the so-called immunocompromised condition. The term denotes a patient whose immune system has been damaged by the treatments or the disease itself. Such condition is more likely to transpire in patients with erythrocyte aplasia.

Fifth disease is also a threat to pregnant women and the fetus inside their womb. This is the reason why pregnant women are strongly advised not get exposed to patients with fifth disease. The disease by nature is contagious and establishing a direct contact to the carrier would jeopardize both the health of the mother and the life of the fetus she conceives. By the time a pregnant woman gets infected with the fifth disease, the fetus inside can also get infected with the virus, which in some worst cases has caused demise of unborn fetus. These complications are yet ephemeral and rare, but can also be critical.