Definition:
A mild viral illness caused by rubella virus.
It causes mild feverish illness associated with a rash, and aches in joints.
It has teratogenic effect on the fetus.
Infectious agent:
Rubella virus (Family – Togaviridae; Genus Rubivirus)
Incubation period:
From exposure to the appearance of rash, is usually 14-21 days.
Period of communicability:
• Approximately one week before and four days after the onset of rashes, but is at its worst when the rash is at its peak.
• Highly communicable infants with congenital Rubella may shed virus for months after birth.
Mode of transmission:
o Direct contact with nasopharyngeal secretions.
o Air droplets
o Transplacental in congenital rubella.
o Infants with congenital rubella shed large quantities of virus in their pharyngeal secretions and urine which serves as source of infections to other contacts.
Clinical manifestations:
I. Prodromal period
• Low grade fever
• Headache
• Malaise
• Mild coryza
• Conjunctivitis
• Post-auricular, sub-occipital, and posterior cervical lymphadenopathy which occur on the 3rd to the 5th day after onset.
II. Eruptive period
• A pinkish rash on the soft palate (Forschheimer’s spot)
• An exanthematous rash that appears first on the face spreading to the neck, the arms, trunk and legs.
• Eruption appears after the onset of adenopathy
• Children usually present less or no constitutional symptoms.
• The rash may last for 1 – 5 days and leaves no pigmentation, no desquamation.
• Testicular pain in young adults.
• Transient polyarthralgia and polyarthritis may occur in adults and occasionally in children.
Modalities of treatment:
• Very little treatment is necessary: it is essentially symptomatic