Boston exanthem disease is a cutaneous condition that first occurred as an epidemic in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
in 1951.
It is caused by
echovirus 16.
The disease tends to afflict children more often than adults, although some adults can become infected, and the symptoms have never been fatal. It shows some clinical similarity to
Rubella and
Human herpesvirus 6
Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) is the common collective name for '' human betaherpesvirus 6A'' (HHV-6A) and '' human betaherpesvirus 6B'' (HHV-6B). These closely related viruses are two of the nine known herpesviruses that have humans as their prim ...
Outbreaks
Boston, 1951
The first known outbreak of Boston exanthem disease occurred in late summer of 1951 in
Boston, Massachusetts. The initial symptoms were thought to be Rubella, however the clinical features were different. Patients exhibited no
Koplik's spots
Koplik's spots (also Koplik's sign) are a prodromic viral enanthem of measles manifesting two to three days before the measles rash itself. They are characterized as clustered, white lesions on the buccal mucosa (opposite the lower 1st & 2nd ...
, the course of the infection was shorter, and the skin lesions differed from Rubella. Two physicians,
Franklin A. Neva from the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
, and
Ilse J. Gorbach investigated the outbreak. Through surveys sent to physicians, 18 cases were identified and specimens collected, 15 children and 3 adults.
Pittsburgh, 1954
An outbreak was first identified in a suburb of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
in June, 1954. Investigation in this suburb revealed an additional 17 cases. After notifying area physicians, an additional 7 cases were identified in other parts of the city. Cases occurred in both children and adults, with one adult hospitalized.
The disease has also been reported in the United States in 1974, and Cuba in 2000.
See also
*
Eruptive pseudoangiomatosis
*
Skin lesion
A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of th ...
References
Virus-related cutaneous conditions
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