Rubella

Rubella – General Information

This medical disorder, also known as the German measles (because the disease was first described by the German physicians), is the disease caused by the Rubella virus (which is a togavirus which is enveloped and has a single stranded genome RNA). This medical condition is usually mild and can last from one to five days. The children affected from this medical condition recover more quickly from it than the adults. The pregnant women who are infected with this virus in the first 20 weeks may give birth to children with the congenital form of this syndrome (also abbreviated CRS). Also spontaneous abortion may occur but only in 20% of the cases. This medical condition is one of the most common childhood infections with minimal systemic upset, but the adults may develop arthropathy. Serious complications develop very rarely. The acquired form of this disease (meaning that it is not congenital) may be transmitted through the airborne droplet emission from the upper respiratory tract (which implies the nasopharynx and lymph nodes). The virus which leads to this medical condition may also be found in the urine, feces and also on the skin. Rubella has an incubation period of about 2 to 3 weeks. In the majority of the cases people usually eliminated the virus rapidly. In some of the cases the virus may persist in the organism for several months in the children which survive the CRS. These children represent an important source of infection to other infants and also to the pregnant women.

Rubella – Symptoms

It is well known the fact that any medical disorder (including Rubella) can trigger a variety of symptoms. Therefore, some of this medical condition's most uncommon symptoms have not been listed (mentioned) here. This is why we strongly recommend you to contact your personal health care provider whenever you develop any unusual, bothersome or unpleasant symptoms. Your personal physician will be able to tell you if you are suffering from this medical disorder. Here is a list of the most common symptoms that a person who suffers from this disease, may experience, although each individual experiences them differently. The virus has an incubation period of 14 to 21 days and the primary symptom of the infection with this virus is the development of the rash (also known as exanthem) on the face which usually expends to the limbs and trunk and disappears after 2 or 3 days with no staining or peeling of the person’s skin. Other symptoms of Rubella include: low grade fever, swollen glands (especially post cervical lymphadenopathy), joint pains, headaches and conjunctivitis. The swollen glands can persist for about a week and the fever may rise above 38 oC. The Forchheimer’s signs appear in about 25% of the cases and it usually characterized by red and small papules on the zone of the soft palate. Rubella may affect anyone no matter the age, but the older persons who are affected have usually more severe symptoms than the younger ones, such as joint pain and arthritic type symptoms.

Rubella – Treatment

The rash which the patients who are suffering from Rubella develop can look like many other rashes produced by different viruses. The doctors or personal health care providers usually confirm the diagnosis of this disorder after different laboratory tests. The patients are usually submitted to different viruses’ cultures and blood tests which can detect the presence in the organism of different types of Rubella antibodies in the patients’ blood. The antibodies usually indicate whether the patients had a recent or a past infection or if they have been vaccinated against this virus. Usually the immunoglobulin M is present in the blood of the persons who have been recently infected with this virus but these antibodies usually persist in the organism for about a year and this is why the doctor or personal health care provider should interpret the results of the test with precaution. The presence of these antibodies along with the rash confirms the diagnostic of this medical condition.

Usually the infections with this virus are prevented by active immunization programs which are using live disabled virus vaccines. Only two live virus vaccines have proved to be effective in the prevention of this medical condition in the adults and these are RA 27/3 and Cendehill strains. These vaccines are now given as part of the MMR vaccine. The first dose of the vaccine is usually recommendable to be given at 12 to 18 months of age and the second at 36 months of age. The women who are pregnant are usually tested for immunity to Rubella from early pregnancy. The women who are susceptible to this disease are not vaccinated until they give birth because the vaccine as we said before contains live viruses which can affect the baby. The symptoms of this medical condition are usually kept under control with paracetamol, until the disease begins to run its course. In the cases of the newborn babies the treatment is aimed to manage the possible complications which may develop. The congenital heart defects and the cataract which can appear are usually corrected during surgery. The prognosis in the cases of the children who are born with CRS is very poor. There is no current treatment which can shorten the course of Rubella and as the symptoms are so mild usually the treatment is not necessary. The doctors usually recommend the patients isolation from the other during the infectious period.

The pregnant women who contact Rubella should discuss the risk to the baby with their doctor or personal health care provider. If the women decide to continue the pregnancy then they could be given antibodies known as hyperimmune globulin which are able to fight the infection in the organism. These antibodies are helpful in reducing the symptoms, but they do not eliminate the possibility for the baby to develop the congenital syndrome. The medical support of a child born with this syndrome varies depending on the problems which the child develops and on the complications which he can develop in the first months of life.