My son is 2 yrs. old and had fifths disease this past Jan. I was told it was just a virus that followed with a rash. Well, he had cold like symptoms for three days and on the fourth day he had a fever and rash. The rash was all over and took three weeks to completely heal. I was told once he had the rash, he was not contagious and this illness affects school-aged kids. He stays home with me, so I'm still unsure of how he got it. But the twist is one week after his rash broke I caught it. I felt aweful it was similar symptoms to the flu. After a week, I broke out into a rash and mine didn't fade for four weeks. However, I was told that once a person catches it, you can't catch it again. The rash is a result of red blood cells not reproducing, which the virus attacks. The virus can be harmful to a fetus, so stay away from pregnant women.