Rubella

Description

Rubella is a contagious viral infection best known by its distinctive red rash. It is also called German measles or three-day measles. This infection can cause mild or no symptoms in most people. However, it can cause serious problems for babies whose mothers are infected during pregnancy.

Rubella is not the same as measles, but the two diseases share some of the signs and symptoms, such as red rash. Rubella is caused by a different virus than measles, and rubella is not as infectious or as severe as measles.

The vaccine against measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and highly effective in the prevention of rubella. The vaccine provides lifelong protection against rubella.

In many countries, rubella infection is scarce or even non-existent. However, because the vaccine is not used in all parts, the virus is causing serious problems for babies whose mothers are infected during pregnancy.

Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of rubella are often difficult to detect, especially in children. Signs and symptoms usually appear between two and three weeks after exposure to the virus. They usually last about 1 to 5 days and may include:

  • Mild fever of 102 F (38.9 C) or lower
  • Headache
  • Stuffy or runny nose.
  • Red, itchy eyes
  • Enlarged, tender lymph nodes at the base of the skull, the back of the neck and behind the ears
  • A fine, pink rash that begins on the face and spreads quickly in the trunk and the arms and legs, before disappearing in the same order
  • The pain of the joints, especially in young women

When to see a doctor

Contact your health care provider if you think you or your child may have been exposed to rubella, or if you notice signs or symptoms that may be rubella.

If you are thinking about becoming pregnant, talk to your immunization record to make sure that you have received the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. If you are pregnant and develop rubella, especially during the first trimester, the virus can cause death or serious birth defects in the developing fetus. Rubella during pregnancy is the most common cause of congenitally deaf. It is better to be protected against rubella before pregnancy.

If you are pregnant, it is likely that you will have to undergo a routine test for immunity to rubella. But if you have never received the vaccine and you think you might have been exposed to rubella, contact your health care provider immediately. A blood test can confirm that you're already immune.

Causes

Rubella is caused by a virus that is transmitted from person to person. It can spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It can also spread by direct contact with infected people in the mucus of the nose and throat. It can also be transmitted from pregnant women to their unborn children through the bloodstream.

A person who has been infected with the virus that causes measles is contagious for about a week before the onset of the rash until about a week after the rash disappears. An infected person can transmit the disease before the person realizes that he or she has.

Rubella is rare in many countries, due to the fact that the majority of children are vaccinated against the infection at an early age. In some parts of the world, the virus is still active. This is something to keep in mind before you travel abroad, especially if you are pregnant.

Once you have had the disease, usually permanently immune.

Complications

Rubella is a mild infection. Some women who have had rubella experience of arthritis in the fingers, hands, wrists, and knees, which usually lasts about a month. In rare cases, rubella can cause an ear infection or inflammation of the brain.

However, if you are pregnant when you get the measles, and the effect on her unborn child can be severe and, in some cases, fatal. Up to 90% of babies born to mothers who had rubella during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy develop congenital rubella syndrome. This syndrome may cause one or more problems, including:

  • The growth of the delays
  • The falls
  • Deafness
  • Problems with the development of the heart (congenital heart defects)
  • Problems with the development of other organs
  • Problems with the mental development and learning

The biggest risk to the fetus during the first trimester, but the exposure later in pregnancy is also dangerous.

Prevention

The rubella vaccine is usually given as a combination of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. This vaccine may also include varicella (chickenpox) vaccine MMRV vaccine. Health care providers recommend that children receive the MMR vaccine between 12 and 15 months of age, and again between 4 and 6 years of age before entering school.

The MMR vaccine prevents measles and protect you for life. The vaccine can prevent rubella during pregnancy future.

Babies born to women who have received the vaccine or who are immune are generally protected from rubella during 6 to 8 months after birth. If a child requires protection against rubella before 12 months of age — for example, for certain trips abroad — the vaccine can be given as early as 6 months of age. But the children who are vaccinated early still need to be vaccinated at the recommended age later.

Provide the MMR vaccine as a combination of recommended vaccines can prevent delays in the protection against measle, mumps, and rubella, and with fewer shots. The combination of the vaccine is safe and effective as vaccines, which are administered separately.

It has not been proven link between the MMR vaccine and autism

Widespread concerns have been raised about a possible relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. However, the extensive reports of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Academy of Medicine, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the conclusion that there is no scientifically demonstrated the relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism.

These organizations note that autism is often identified in young children between the ages of 18 and 30 months, which is about the time that children receive their first MMR vaccine. But this coincidence in time is not to be confused with a cause-and-effect relationship.

Do you need the MMR vaccine?

You don't need a vaccine if you:

  • Had two doses of the mmr vaccine at 12 months of age.
  • A blood test that show that you're immune to measles, mumps, and rubella.
  • Born before 1957. People born before 1957 are likely to have had measles, mumps, and rubella during childhood, and are immune. However, without a blood test showing immunity, the MMR vaccine is recommended.

Get a vaccine if you have not had two doses of the MMR vaccine after 12 months of age or a blood test to prove that you are immune to measles, mumps, and rubella.

To guarantee the immunity is especially important if you:

  • Are a woman non-pregnant women of childbearing age
  • Attend college, trade school, or high school
  • Working in a hospital, medical center, child-care center or school
  • Plan to travel overseas or taking a cruise

The vaccine is not recommended for:

  • Women who are pregnant or who plan to become pregnant within the next four weeks
  • People who have had an allergic reaction to gelatin, the antibiotic neomycin, or a previous dose of the MMR vaccine

If you have cancer, a blood disorder or other medical condition, or taking medicine that affects your immune system, talk to your health care provider before receiving an MMR vaccine.

Side effects of the vaccine

Most people experience no side effects from the vaccine.

For some people, the minor side effects may occur about two weeks after vaccination, but usually they occur less often after the second injection. These may include:

  • Pain in the arm at the site of the injection
  • Fever
  • Mild skin rash or redness at the injection site

Very few people experience:

  • Temporary joint pain or stiffness, especially in adolescents and adult women who were previously not immune to rubella
  • Swelling of the glands in the cheeks or neck
  • The seizures that occur with a fever
  • Low level of blood cells that help with clotting (platelets), which can cause unusual bleeding or bruising
  • Rash all over the body
  • Severe allergic reaction, very rarely

After a diagnosis

If you have been exposed to the virus and get the measles, you can help to keep friends, family, and coworkers safe, and tell them about your diagnosis. If your child has rubella, go to school or child care center to know.

Rubella

Diagnosis

The rubella rash may look like many other viral rashes of the skin. For health care providers tend to confirm rubella with the help of laboratory tests. You may have a virus culture or a blood test, which can detect the presence of different types of rubella antibodies in your blood. These antibodies show if you have had a recent or past infection or a vaccine against rubella.

Treatment

No treatment will shorten the course of infection by small-pox, and the symptoms do not usually need to be treated, as they are often mild. However, health care providers usually recommend the privacy of others — especially of pregnant women during the infectious period. Isolate from others as soon as rubella is suspected and until at least seven days after the rash disappears.

The support of a baby born with congenital rubella syndrome varies depending on the extent of the baby's problems. The children who have multiple complications may require early treatment from a team of specialists.

Self-care

Simple self-care measures are required when a child or an adult is infected with the virus that causes rubella, such as:

  • Bed rest
  • Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) for the relief of fever and pain

Use caution when giving aspirin to children or teenagers. Even though aspirin is approved for use in children older than 3 years of age, children and teenagers recovering from chickenpox or flu-like symptoms should never take aspirin. This is because aspirin has been linked with Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal in these children. For the treatment of fever or pain, consider giving your child infants or children over-the-counter fever and pain medication, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) as a safer alternative to aspirin.

Preparing for your appointment

As you prepare for your appointment, it is a good idea to write down any questions you have. Your health care provider will likely ask you a series of questions as well. Be ready to answer them may reserve time to go over any points you want to spend more time on.

Your provider may ask:

  • Have been vaccinated against rubella?
  • How long have you had signs or symptoms, such as a skin rash, or joint pain?
  • Has been exposed to someone with rubella?
  • Have you traveled to other countries in the past few weeks? What countries?
  • Nothing seems to improve the symptoms?
  • Does anything seem to make your symptoms worse?

When you register for the event, make sure you tell the check-in desk that you suspect an infectious disease. You and your child may be asked to wear a face mask or shown to an exam room immediately.

Symptoms and treatment of Rubella.