Other names :
German measles.
Introduction :
A viral infection, usually of childhood, that causes cold symptoms and a fine red rash.
Cause :
Rubella is caused by a virus (togavirus) that is widespread in the community, but flares in epidemics that occur every few years. It spreads from one person to another with coughs and sneezes. German measles and common measles are totally different diseases, and there is no protection against one if you catch the other.
Revention :
Before 1969 there was no vaccination available for rubella, a disease that caused blindness, deafness and other serious damage to the babies of pregnant mothers who caught the disease. Since then, rubella (or German measles) has been attacked in a world-wide campaign to totally eradicate it. Vaccination is simple and effective. There are no side effects, and every woman should ensure that she has had the vaccination before considering pregnancy. As a routine, all children are now given mumps, measles and rubella as a combined vaccine at twelve months of age. All twelve year olds should be given a further combined vaccination to ensure that they have long lasting protection. If all girls received this vaccine, rubella as a cause of deformity in children would be eliminated. But many older women have not had the vaccine, and some girls do not attend clinics or their general practitioner for the vaccine. As a result, babies are still occasionally being born deaf and blind. Some women do not have the vaccine because they are positive that they had rubella as a child. This is a most unreliable guide, as many other mild viral infections of childhood can cause a rash and mimic rubella. If a woman is unsure about her vaccination history, a blood test is available from doctors which will determine their immune status.
Investigations :
No investigation is usually necessary as the diagnosis is obvious to the examining doctor. If there is doubt, a blood test can be performed to confirm the diagnosis.
Course :
Rubella resembles measles in that it occurs commonly in children, produces a fine rash that starts on the head and then spreads over the body, and can be caught only once in your life, but it may cause so little in the way of sickness, and may be so mild that it is completely overlooked. The rash lasts only two or three days, is not itchy, and is not accompanied by the sore eyes and cold symptoms associated with common measles. There are often some enlarged glands at the back of the neck, and the patient in bad cases may have a fever, runny nose and joint pains. The incubation period from exposure to the disease developing is two to three weeks.
Treatment :
Treatment of the symptoms with paracetamol and cough and cold preparations is all that is necessary.
Complications :
Although relatively mild if caught by a child or adult, the virus causing German measles can cross from the mother to her child in the womb. It is only between the sixth and twelfth weeks of pregnancy that the virus can cause damage, but the damage it does cause is quite catastrophic. By preventing the correct development of the eye, ear and sometimes other organs, the baby is born with severe defects in these areas that cannot be adequately corrected by later treatment.
Outcome :
All patients with rubella recover without any problem
Related conditions :
Measles.
