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May 10, 2024 · Most adults who get rubella usually have a mild illness, with: Low-grade fever. Sore throat. A rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. Some adults may also have a headache, pink eye, and general discomfort before the rash appears.
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The signs and symptoms of rubella are often difficult to notice, especially in children. Signs and symptoms generally appear between two and three weeks after exposure to the virus. They usually last about 1 to 5 days and may include:
•Mild fever of 102 F (38.9 C) or lower
•Headache
•Stuffy or runny nose
•Red, itchy eyes
•Enlarged, tender lymph nodes at the base of the skull, the back of the neck and behind the ears
Contact your health care provider if you think you or your child may have been exposed to rubella or if you notice the signs or symptoms that may be rubella.
If you're considering getting pregnant, check your vaccination record to make sure you've received your measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. If you're pregnant and you develop rubella, especially during the first trimester, the virus can cause death or serious birth defects in the developing fetus. Rubella during pregnancy is the most common cause of congenital deafness. It's best to be protected against rubella before pregnancy.
If you're pregnant, you'll likely undergo a routine screening for immunity to rubella. But if you've never received the vaccine and you think you might have been exposed to rubella, contact your health care provider immediately. A blood test might confirm that you're already immune.
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Rubella is caused by a virus that's passed from person to person. It can spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It can also spread by direct contact with infected mucus from the nose and throat. It can also be passed on from pregnant women to their unborn children through the bloodstream.
A person who has been infected with the virus that causes rubella is contagious for about one week before the onset of the rash until about one week after the rash disappears. An infected person can spread the illness before the person realizes he or she has it.
Rubella is rare in many countries because most children are vaccinated against the infection at an early age. In some parts of the world, the virus is still active. This is something to consider before going abroad, especially if you're pregnant.
Once you've had the disease, you're usually permanently immune.
Rubella is a mild infection. Some women who have had rubella experience arthritis in the fingers, wrists and knees, which generally lasts for about one month. In rare cases, rubella can cause an ear infection or inflammation of the brain.
However, if you're pregnant when you get rubella, the effect on your unborn child may be severe, and in some cases, fatal. Up to 90% of infants born to mothers who had rubella during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy develop congenital rubella syndrome. This syndrome can cause one or more problems, including:
•Growth delays
•Cataracts
•Deafness
•Problems with the development of the heart (congenital heart defects)
The rubella vaccine is usually given as a combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. This vaccine may also include the chickenpox (varicella) vaccine — MMRV vaccine. Health care providers recommend that children receive the MMR vaccine between 12 and 15 months of age, and again between 4 and 6 years of age — before entering school.
The MMR vaccine prevents rubella and protects against it for life. Getting the vaccine can prevent rubella during future pregnancies.
Babies born to women who have received the vaccine or who are already immune are usually protected from rubella for 6 to 8 months after birth. If a child requires protection from rubella before 12 months of age — for example, for certain foreign travel — the vaccine can be given as early as 6 months of age. But children who are vaccinated early still need to be vaccinated at the recommended ages later.
Providing the MMR vaccine as a combination of recommended vaccines can prevent delays in protection against measle, mumps and rubella — and with fewer shots. The combination vaccine is as safe and effective as the vaccines given separately.
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Aug 25, 2022 · Rubella’s prominent symptom is a rash that usually starts on your face and moves down the rest of your body. In young children, a rash is often their first symptom. In older children and adults, the rash can appear a few days after other symptoms start.
Common symptoms include: Slight fever, sore throat, runny nose and malaise (may occur prior to appearance of rash, more so in adults than in children). Tender or swollen glands almost always accompany rubella, most commonly behind the ears ( retroauricular) and at the back of the neck ( occipital and posterior cervical lymph nodes ).
Mar 8, 2019 · German measles, also known as rubella, is a viral infection that causes a red rash on the body. Aside from the rash, people with German measles usually have a fever and swollen lymph nodes....
Oct 18, 2023 · Rash of rubella on skin of child’s back. Neck of male patient with rubella. Patient with face rash due to rubella. Child in profile with a malar facial rash due to rubella. Transmission electron micrograph of rubella virus. 11 month old infant with mild rubella rash. Rubella rash (face) in a previously unimmunized young woman.
