[Viral arthritis in childhood].

Many viruses can cause arthritis in children. Viral arthritis can mimic other rheumatic conditions as rheumatic fever, septic arthritis or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Usually viral arthritis is a self-limited disease; occasionally it may show a chronic course lasting several months. Rubella arthritis follows natural infection or vaccination; it looks the expression of a direct invasion of the synovial tissue by the virus. Hepatitis B arthritis is an immune-complex synovitis occurring during the prodromic stage of HBV infection.