Menu
Home Explore People Places Arts History Plants & Animals Science Life & Culture Technology
On this page
Exanthem
Widespread rash occurring on the body

An exanthem is a widespread rash eruption occurring on the outside of the body, usually presents in children, the rash is typically associated with constitutional symptoms including fever and fatigue. It is usually caused by a virus, but an exanthem can be caused by bacteria, toxins, drugs, other microorganisms, or as a result of autoimmune disease. Exanthems associated with viruses are usually not specific but some are pathognomonic for certain viruses, the rash is not caused by the virus itself but the bodies reaction to the virus.

The term exanthem is from the Greek ἐξάνθημα, exánthēma, 'a breaking out'. It can be contrasted with enanthems which occur inside the body, such as on mucous membranes. Exanthems occasionally present in association with enanthems .

Related Image Collections Add Image
Profiles
1 Image
We don't have any YouTube videos related to Exanthem yet.
We don't have any PDF documents related to Exanthem yet.
We don't have any Books related to Exanthem yet.
We don't have any archived web articles related to Exanthem yet.

Infectious exanthem

in 1900, the physician Clement Dukes assigned a number for the known exanthems affecting the pediatric age group which are first disease (measles),second disease (scarlet fever), thrid disease (rubella) and fourth disease (filatove-dukes).9 In 1905, the Russian-French physician Léon Cheinisse added fifth disease which is now known as erythema infectiosum or slapped check syndrome.101112 In 1909, sixth disease (roselola infantum or exanthem subitum) was introduced by John Zahorsky.13

Of these six "classical" infectious childhood exanthems,14 four are viral. Numbers were provided in 1905.15

The four viral exanthems have much in common, and are often studied together as a class. They are:

NameNumberVirusRash characteristics 16
Measles (rubeola)"first disease"measles virusErythematous macules and papules appearing first on the head and spread down over body over 3 days. Enanthem: pathognomonic Koplik spots (punctate blue-white erosions on buccal mucosa)
Rubella, ("German measles") identified in 1881.17"third disease"rubella virusPink macules and papules that appear first on the head and spread down over body in 24 hours. Rash disappears in 2–3 days. Enanthem: Forcheimmer sign (punctate petechiae on soft palate or uvula)
Erythema infectiosum, identified as a distinct condition in 1896.18"fifth disease"parvovirus B19Confluent erythematous and edematous patches on cheeks ("slapped cheek") for 1–4 days followed by a "lacy," reticular, erythematous rash on the body.
Roseola infantum (exanthem subitum)"sixth disease"HHV-6 and HHV-7Rapid onset of erythematous, blanching macules and papules surrounded by white halos on the trunk after 3–5 days of high fever. The rash spreads to the neck and body extremities and lasts 1–2 days.

Scarlet fever, or "second disease", is associated with the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes. Fourth disease, also known as "Dukes' disease" is a condition whose existence is not widely accepted today. It was described in 1900 and is postulated to be related to the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.19

In 1979 and 2001 a possible "seventh disease" was postulated following reports of a condition in Japan also referred to as acute febrile infantile mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome (MCLS).20

Many other common viruses apart from the ones mentioned above can also produce an exanthem as part of their presentation, though they are not considered part of the classic numbered list:

See also

References

  1. "Viral exanthems". Primary Care Dermatology Society. Primary Care Dermatology Society. Retrieved 16 December 2022. https://www.pcds.org.uk/clinical-guidance/viral-exanthems ↩

  2. "Exanthems (reactive rashes)". DermNet. Retrieved 2024-05-17. https://dermnetnz.org/topics/exanthems ↩

  3. "Exanthems (reactive rashes)". DermNet. Retrieved 2024-05-17. https://dermnetnz.org/topics/exanthems ↩

  4. Weisse ME (January 2001). "The fourth disease, 1900-2000". Lancet. 357 (9252): 299–301. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)03623-0. PMID 11214144. S2CID 35896288. /wiki/Doi_(identifier) ↩

  5. "Exanthems (reactive rashes)". DermNet. Retrieved 2024-05-17. https://dermnetnz.org/topics/exanthems ↩

  6. Drago, Francesco; Ciccarese, Giulia; Gasparini, Giulia; Cogorno, Ludovica; Javor, Sanja; Toniolo, Antonio; Broccolo, Francesco (2017-02-01). "Contemporary Infectious Exanthems: An Update". Future Microbiology. 12 (2): 171–193. doi:10.2217/fmb-2016-0147. hdl:10281/135791. ISSN 1746-0913. PMID 27838923. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.2217/fmb-2016-0147?needAccess=true ↩

  7. "Roseola Glossary of Terms with Definitions on MedicineNet.com". Archived from the original on 2008-09-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20080914174824/http://www.medicinenet.com/roseola/glossary.htm ↩

  8. Keighley, Caitlin L.; Saunderson, Rebecca B.; Kok, Jen; Dwyer, Dominic E. (April 2015). "Viral exanthems". Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases. 28 (2): 139. doi:10.1097/QCO.0000000000000145. ISSN 0951-7375. https://journals.lww.com/co-infectiousdiseases/fulltext/2015/04000/viral_exanthems.5.aspx ↩

  9. Ninkov, Tatiana; Cadogan, Mike; Cadogan, Tatiana Ninkov and Mike (2022-08-01). "Sixth disease". Life in the Fast Lane • LITFL. Retrieved 2025-02-18. https://litfl.com/sixth-disease/ ↩

  10. Mahy, Brian W. J. (2009-02-26). The Dictionary of Virology. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-08-092036-8. 978-0-08-092036-8 ↩

  11. Zuckerman, Arie J.; Banatvala, Jangu E.; Pattison, John R.; Griffiths, Paul; Schoub, Barry (2004-08-13). Principles and Practice of Clinical Virology. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-02096-8. 978-0-470-02096-8 ↩

  12. Morens, David M. (1982-08-06). "Fifth Disease: Still Hazy After All These Years". JAMA. 248 (5): 553–554. doi:10.1001/jama.1982.03330050035026. ISSN 0098-7484. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/376218 ↩

  13. Ninkov, Tatiana; Cadogan, Mike; Cadogan, Tatiana Ninkov and Mike (2022-05-09). "John Zahorsky". Life in the Fast Lane • LITFL. Retrieved 2025-02-18. https://litfl.com/john-zahorsky/ ↩

  14. Bialecki C, Feder HM, Grant-Kels JM (November 1989). "The six classic childhood exanthems: a review and update". J Am Acad Dermatol. 21 (5 Pt 1): 891–903. doi:10.1016/s0190-9622(89)70275-9. PMID 2681288. /wiki/Doi_(identifier) ↩

  15. "fifth disease" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary [dead link‍] https://web.archive.org/web/20090628224336/http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_hl_dorlands_split.jsp?pg=/ppdocs/us/common/dorlands/dorland/nine/000952705.htm ↩

  16. Scott, MD, Lycia A; Stone, MD, Mary Seabury (2003). "Viral exanthems". Dermatology Online Journal. 9 (3): 4. doi:10.5070/D33WD095BT. PMID 12952751. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3wd095bt ↩

  17. Weisse ME (January 2001). "The fourth disease, 1900-2000". Lancet. 357 (9252): 299–301. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)03623-0. PMID 11214144. S2CID 35896288. /wiki/Doi_(identifier) ↩

  18. Altman, Lawrence K (November 30, 1982). "THE DOCTOR'S WORLD". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-11-07. https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/30/science/the-doctor-s-world.html ↩

  19. Weisse ME (January 2001). "The fourth disease, 1900-2000". Lancet. 357 (9252): 299–301. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)03623-0. PMID 11214144. S2CID 35896288. /wiki/Doi_(identifier) ↩

  20. Patel, Mitesh; Charlton, Rodger (2015-07-27). "First to seventh diseases: discarded diagnoses?". BMJ. 351: h3525. doi:10.1136/bmj.h3525. ISSN 1756-1833. S2CID 71125596. http://www.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bmj.h3525 ↩

  21. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/r/rr5504.pdf [dead link‍] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/r/rr5504.pdf ↩