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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Parvovirus Cause Mycoplasma Pneumococcus And Pneumonia?

Dear Doctor,
My wife has had a real bumpy ride the past few weeks. OUr daughter contracted human parvovirus (5th disease) and it faded with no complications- but then my wife contracted it-- unusual in an adult. she developed the skin rash and then her ankles and lower legs swelled up-- all consistent with adult contraction of parvovirus. But, after 10 days or so, she suddenly began vomiting and became very nauseous-- couldn't hardly eat and had a splitting headache. After getting some gastrointestinal drugs from ER (I was scared!) these too faded. We took her to the doctor-- who had taken blood the week previous in relation to the parvovirus and discovered her white blood cells had crashed to 2 (?) when they should be between 3.5 and 5.0. Also, she seemed to have anemia as well. New blood tests were ordered this past week and her white blood cells were normal-- but she came back positive with mycoplasma pneumococcus-- and an X-ray noted pneumonia. The blood test also revealed her ALT was elevated. Now, she seems to be getting over the pneumonia-- and is eating-- but she still has swelling in her left calf and ankles. Could this all stem from the parvovirus? Could it all stem from the mycoplasma pneumococcus? She was fine a few weeks ago- before the parovirus came in-- but she has been working too hard and has probably exhausted herself. She has a doctor's visit in a few days-- but I'm scared and want her to go earlier. What do you think?
Thanks
posted on Fri, 14 Mar 2014
Twitter Mon, 25 May 2015 Answered on
Twitter Mon, 25 May 2015 Last reviewed on
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Internal Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Adults can get 5th disease and it can cause a generalized arthritis that may last weeks. It does not cause Mycoplasma or pneumococcus, which are particular types of bacteria that can cause pneumonia. However, the initial viral infection plus the overworking and exhaustion could easily have depleted her immune system so that she became more susceptible to infections with these other microbes. The drop in white cells suggests that this is what happened. The elevations in ALT could be related to an inflammatory process in general which is occurring with all these infections. I suspect the swelling may be related to the parvovirus, which can cause, as I said, an inflammatory/arthritic process, which may take some time to resolve. If she is getting worse, then I would want to see her earlier, but if she is remaining stable or showing a little improvement, then she can wait for her regular doctor visit. It is going to take awhile until she gets back to normal. Hope this helps.
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Can Parvovirus Cause Mycoplasma Pneumococcus And Pneumonia?

Adults can get 5th disease and it can cause a generalized arthritis that may last weeks. It does not cause Mycoplasma or pneumococcus, which are particular types of bacteria that can cause pneumonia. However, the initial viral infection plus the overworking and exhaustion could easily have depleted her immune system so that she became more susceptible to infections with these other microbes. The drop in white cells suggests that this is what happened. The elevations in ALT could be related to an inflammatory process in general which is occurring with all these infections. I suspect the swelling may be related to the parvovirus, which can cause, as I said, an inflammatory/arthritic process, which may take some time to resolve. If she is getting worse, then I would want to see her earlier, but if she is remaining stable or showing a little improvement, then she can wait for her regular doctor visit. It is going to take awhile until she gets back to normal. Hope this helps.