Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is a self-limited, mild viral illness that poses little danger to children or adults. For the developing fetus, however, infection with rubella virus is a grave threat, capable of inducing severe anomalies and permanent disability. Despite widespread vaccination programs, populations of susceptible individuals persist, among them women...

Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) can occur in children whose mothers contract the rubella virus, sometimes called German measles, during pregnancy [2]. Depending on the gestational period when the mother contracts rubella, an infant born with CRS may be unaffected by the virus or it may have severe developmental defects. The most severe effects of the virus on fetal development occur when the ...

Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) can occur in children whose mothers contract the rubella virus, sometimes called German measles, during pregnancy [2]. Depending on the gestational period when the mother contracts rubella, an infant born with CRS may be unaffected by the virus or it may have severe developmental defects. The most severe effects of the virus on fetal development occur when the ...

Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) can occur in children whose mothers contract the rubella virus, sometimes called German measles, during pregnancy [2]. Depending on the gestational period when the mother contracts rubella, an infant born with CRS may be unaffected by the virus or it may have severe developmental defects. The most severe effects of the virus on fetal development occur when the ...

Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) can occur in children whose mothers contract the rubella virus, sometimes called German measles, during pregnancy [2]. Depending on the gestational period when the mother contracts rubella, an infant born with CRS may be unaffected by the virus or it may have severe developmental defects. The most severe effects of the virus on fetal development occur when the ...

Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) can occur in children whose mothers contract the rubella virus, sometimes called German measles, during pregnancy [2]. Depending on the gestational period when the mother contracts rubella, an infant born with CRS may be unaffected by the virus or it may have severe developmental defects. The most severe effects of the virus on fetal development occur when the ...

Prior to the introduction of rubella vaccine to Australia in 1970 rubella was primarily a disease of primary school aged children. Vaccination programs have subsequently altered rubella age and sex susceptibility. Between July 2001 and June 2002, 85 per cent of the 32 laboratory-confirmed cases of rubella ascertained from enhanced surveillance in Victoria were males aged 20-42 years. This study...

During an epidemic of rubella in Hong Kong between October 1996 and June 1997, four male patients presented with rubella complicated by encephalitis, the symptoms of which started 1 to 5 days after the appearance of the rash characteristic of rubella. Two patients recovered completely within 1 week and one complained of a slight impairment of short-term memory. Severe cerebral oedema, and herni...

Acute primary maternal infection with rubella virus during pregnancy often, but not invariably, leads to the congenital rubella syndrome. Diagnosis by detection of virus specific IgM in the mother is not always possible, and in those cases in which IgM is detected the fetus has not necessarily also been infected. A method for direct, prenatal detection of fetal infection would allow more accura...

We have used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to provide a very sensitive and unequivocal test for diagnosis of foetal rubella virus infection. RNA extracted from biopsy specimens (chorionic villi), placenta or products of conception was reverse-transcribed using a rubella virus-specific oligonucleotide primer and the cDNA was amplified by PCR. The specificity of the amplified fragment was c...