Viral arthritis

Viral infections can present with different patterns of joint and soft tissue involvement, and the etiologic role of viruses in various rheumatic diseases is a subject of continued great interest. Recently, new immunoenzymatic assays have brought a better understanding of the relationship between hepatitis C virus serotypes and their immunologic manifestations. Our knowledge of the consequences of parvovirus B19 infection has broadened to include the variable clinical spectrum, the role of inflammatory cytokine production in parvovirus-induced arthritis, a postulated causative role for B19 in rheumatoid arthritis, and a negative association between parvovirus and Still's disease as well as chronic fatigue syndrome. New, specific antibodies to nonstructural protein NS-1 in parvovirus B19-associated arthritis have been detected. Arthritis related to hepatitis B virus vaccination or measles and mumps vaccination was also reported. The papers reviewed here demonstrate the continuing efforts in defining the etiopathogenesis of virus-induced rheumatic diseases.