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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffThe cause of rubella is a virus that's passed from person to person. It can spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or it can spread by direct contact with an infected person's respiratory secretions, such as mucus. It can also be transmitted from a pregnant woman to her unborn child via the bloodstream. A person with rubella is contagious from 10 days before the onset of the rash until about one or two weeks after the rash disappears.
Rubella is rare in the United States because most children receive a vaccination against the infection at an early age. However, cases of rubella do occur, mostly in unvaccinated foreign-born adults.
The disease is still common in many parts of the world, although more than half of all countries now use a rubella vaccine. The prevalence of rubella in other countries is something to consider before going abroad, especially if you're pregnant.
- Hornig M, et al. Lack of association between measles virus vaccine and autism with enteropathy: A case-control study. PLoS ONE. 2008;3:e3140.
- MMR vaccine questions and answers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/combo-vaccines/mmr/faqs-mmr-hcp.htm. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- Rubella: Make sure your child is fully immunized. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Rubella/. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- Measles, mumps & rubella (MMR) vaccines. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-mmr.pdf. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- Rubella no longer major public health threat in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r050321.htm. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- Patient page: Rubella. The Journal of the American Medical Association. 2002;287:542.
- Rubella disease in-short (German measles). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/rubella/in-short-adult.htm. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- Rubella. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec14/ch193/ch193e.html. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- Passive immunization. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec14/ch169/ch169c.html. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- Facts for parents about autism and vaccine safety. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/autismfactsforparents.pdf. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- Immunization safety review: Vaccines and autism. Institute of Medicine. http://www.iom.edu/?id=20155&redirect=0. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/mmr_vaccine.htm. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- Rubella (German measles). March of Dimes. http://www.marchofdimes.com/printableArticles/14332_1225.asp. Accessed May 25, 2009.
- Hoecker JL. (expert opinion.) Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 9, 2009.
- Hoecker JL. (expert opinion.) Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 10, 2009.
