BACKGROUND Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) affects thousands of children in the developing world because rubella vaccination is not routinely available in most of these countries. Among its many manifestations, congenital heart disease is life threatening. CASE DETAILS A 9-month-old infant presented with whitish lesions over her left eye. She was evaluated with echocardiography that reveale...

It is over 50 years since a syndrome of congenital abnormalities following maternal rubella infection was first recognised. Despite the potentially devastating effects of the congenital rubella syndrome, immunisation rates are not optimal and infections in pregnancy still occur. Four cases of rubella infection occurring in pregnancy are presented. Laboratory diagnosis of primary infection and r...

Teratogenicity ofthe rubella virus for the developing organ systems of the human embryo has been recognized since Gregg's (1941) clinical description of the congenital rubella syndrome and the retrospective epidemiological investigation of the 1940 Australian rubella epidemic by Swan et al. (1943). Pathogenesis, however, remained speculative, as rubella was only of presumed viral etiology. Subs...

The goal of rubella vaccination programs is to protect future progeny from intrauterine and congenital rubella (abortion, stillbirth, and congenital rubella syndrome [CRS]). Experience in the United States and northern Europe shows that substantial progress can be made in preventing the ravages of rubella acquired during pregnancy.1,2 Nevertheless, administrative gaps and some unforeseen demogr...

Selective rubella vaccination of schoolgirls commenced in 1971 and was followed by a significant reduction in congenital rubella. Infant vaccination with MMR was introduced in 1989 to interrupt circulation of the virus in young children, and in 1994/95 the adolescent school based rubella vaccination program was changed to MMR for both boys and girls. This report reviews the epidemiology of rube...

Of the five diseases generally recognised as causing congenital defects, viz., toxoplasmosis, rubella, cy tom egaloviral infection, herpes simplex and syphilis (TORCHES) studied in Malaysia, rubella was found to be the most important. A total of 574 children with features of congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) were examined for rubella-specific 19M (in infants four months and below), and for rube...

Two infants with congenital rubella defects (congenital rubella syndrome) have been reported from Queensland in 2003, after an increase in rubella in that State in 2001-2002. The national Measles Control Campaign in 1998 aimed to give measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine to all unvaccinated preschoolers and a second dose to primary schoolchildren. Following the Campaign no children with congenit...

Rubella is a mild infection of childhood and young adults with 75% of cases occurring in age group 15-45 years. In unvaccinated populations, rubella usually occurs in spring with epidemics in 6-9 years cycles. Rubella has devastating effects on growing foetus if contracted by women in the first trimester of pregnancy. Perinatal infection of Rubella contributes to 2-3% of all congenital anomalie...

In 1971 Maurice Hillemanat at the Merck Institute of Therapeutic Research, a pharmaceutical company in West Point, Pennsylvania, created the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The vaccine combined three separate vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella, common and sometimes fatal diseases. Measles causes a red skin rash and severe fevers that can be fatal. Mumps causes fever and swellin...