Rubella — what is the danger of this disease?

Rubella, along with toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus and herpes, belongs to TORCH infections, diseases that can have a detrimental effect on the fetus if infected during pregnancy. The disease is caused by a virus, the only known source and carrier of which is human. Mostly children and young people are susceptible to the disease; they tolerate the disease quite easily. Of the clinical symptoms, it should be noted the appearance of a rash, a slight increase in temperature, regional lymphadenitis, and sometimes conjunctivitis. In adults, joint inflammation can also occur, which usually lasts 3–7 days. The rubella virus is most dangerous when a woman first becomes infected during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester. The probability of intrauterine infection of the fetus in this situation is 90 %, as a result of which it may die or develop congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). As a result, children with congenital rubella syndrome can suffer from developmental defects, hearing and visual impairments, diabetes mellitus and thyroid disorders. To prevent intrauterine infection of the fetus, vaccination against rubella is carried out, which leads to the development of stable immunity. Today rubella vaccination is carried out in 168 countries of the world, which allows immunization coverage of about 70 % of women. The countries of the African continent and Southeast Asia are the least affected by rubella vaccination, as a result of which there are about 4 cases of births of children in utero infected with the virus per 1000 births.