A total of 468 sera were selected for the evaluation of the Public Health Laboratory Service's IgM antibody capture enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kit (MACELISA) for detecting rubella specific IgM. The results obtained were compared with those obtained by IgM antibody capture radioimmunoassay (MACRIA). Sera from patients with primary postnatal rubella, congenital rubella, remote rubella, inf...

In Spain, vaccination against rubella was initiated in schoolgirls in the mid-1970s. In Gipuzkoa, subsequent extensions to the vaccination schedule culminated in 1992 with the introduction of the two-dose measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in children and adolescents of both sexes. Moreover, in 1985 a programme for the identification and vaccination of non-immune parturient women was implemente...

BACKGROUND Rubella vaccination is contraindicated during pregnancy. During mass immunization of women of childbearing age against rubella, women unknowingly pregnant may be vaccinated. To evaluate the effects of rubella vaccination during pregnancy, the Brazilian state of São Paulo conducted a follow-up study of pregnant women vaccinated during a rubella campaign in 2001. METHODS Women vaccin...

A total of 468 sera were selected for the evaluation of the Public Health Laboratory Service's IgM antibody capture enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kit (MACELISA) for detecting rubella specific IgM. The results obtained were compared with those obtained by IgM antibody capture radioimmunoassay (MACRIA). Sera from patients with primary postnatal rubella, congenital rubella, remote rubella, inf...

A total of 468 sera were selected for the evaluation of the Public Health Laboratory Service's IgM antibody capture enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kit (MACELISA) for detecting rubella specific IgM. The results obtained were compared with those obtained by IgM antibody capture radioimmunoassay (MACRIA). Sera from patients with primary postnatal rubella, congenital rubella, remote rubella, inf...

BACKGROUND Rubella infection can affect several organs and cause birth defects that are responsible for congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Congenital hearing loss is the most common symptom of this syndrome, occurring in approximately 60% of CRS cases. Worldwide, over 100 000 babies are born with CRS every year. There is no specific treatment for rubella, but the disease is preventable by vacci...

Five cases of asymptomatic maternal reinfection with rubella are described that occurred in England and Wales during 1985-8 and resulted in intrauterine infection. The criteria for diagnosing reinfection are described. In four cases the rubella contact was with the woman's own children. Two women had therapeutic abortions, rubella virus being recovered from the products of conception, and three...

BACKGROUND Rubella infection and congenital rubella are currently rare in the United Kingdom, although sporadic cases occur, often associated with travel abroad. Uptake of the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine has declined in recent years, and there is a danger that rubella infection could start to circulate again, with serious implications for susceptible pregnant women. This c...

Rubella, once considered being a mild, benign rash illness, gained public health significance in 1941 when Gregg [1] associated the significance of congenital cataracts with rubella during pregnancy. In 1962–1965, a rubella pandemic resulted in approximately 12.5 million rubella cases, 20,000 infants born with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), 11,250 fetal deaths (fetal wastage and abortions),...

In Canada, measles was eliminated in 1998 and rubella in 2000. Effective measles and rubella surveillance is vital in elimination settings, hinging on reliable laboratory methods. However, low-prevalence settings affect the predictive value of laboratory tests. We conducted an analysis to determine the performance of measles and rubella IgM testing in a jurisdiction where both infections are el...