Rubella: Not seen in Utah since 1999
Rubella, also known as the German measles, is a virus on its way to being eradicated in the United States.
According to Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Disease, a book issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States experienced its last major epidemic between 1964 and 1965, and no large epidemics have occurred since 1969 when the vaccine was licensed.
Utah has not had a case of rubella since 1999 and that was an isolated case, said Nicole Stone of the epidemiology department of the Utah Health Department.
“It’s very rare,” Stone said. “They [the CDC] are trying to get it to where the only cases are imported. They’re not there yet, but they are close.”
The CDC recommends two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to prevent rubella, said Carlie Shurtliff of the immunization department of the Utah Health Department. The first dose is recommended at 12 to 18 months of age and the second at 4 to 6 years.
The second dose can be given four weeks after the first, but the CDC recommends giving it at 4 to 6 years so it coincides with kids entering kindergarten, Shurtliff said.
“Almost all people immunized respond to the first dose given, but the second is given because the small number who don’t respond to the first will respond to the second,” Shurtliff said. “Studies indicate one dose of vaccine gives long-term, probably lifelong immunity.”
According to a flier made by the CDC, “The risk of a MMR vaccine causing serious harm or death is extremely small. Getting a MMR vaccine is much safer than getting any of these three diseases.”
Some mild problems may be fever for one out of six people, mild rash for one out of 20 and swelling of the glands in the neck or cheek, which is rare, according to the flier.
According to the CDC book, prevention of CRS (Congenital Rubella Syndrome) is the main objective of rubella vaccination programs in the United States. CRS, if contracted in early pregnancy can lead to premature delivery, different congenital defects and fetal death. The real risks come if infection occurs before the 20th week.
There are many congenital problems possible the fetus may contract, such as deafness, which is the most common according to the CDC book. Eye defects including glaucoma and cataracts, cardiac defects and neurological defects such as mental retardation also occur.
According to the CDC book, rubella is a virus that causes rash, mild fever and arthritis (mostly in women). Arthritis can occur in up to 70 percent of women who contract the disease.
“Arthritis occurs so frequently in adults that they are considered by many to be an integral part of the illness as opposed to a complication,” according to the CDC book.
Rubella is moderately contagious, being spread through respiratory secretions and is airborne, according the CDC book. Most cases in the United States now are among those born where immunization isn’t readily available.