Juvenile dermatomyositis in a child infected with human parvovirus B19.

We report a case of juvenile dermatomyositis in which clinical onset occurred soon after infection with human parvovirus B19. To the best of our knowledge an association between juvenile dermatomyositis and human parvovirus B19 has not been previously reported. Parvovirus infection has been associated with several autoimmune diseases, and the findings in the case we describe raise the possibility that parvovirus may induce juvenile dermatomyositis, although we could not demonstrate a causal relationship.