Know all about ...

A mild, contagious viral illness (Rubeola). German measles is likely to cause serious birth defects to the unborn baby of a pregnant woman who develops the disease in the first 3 or 4 months of pregnancy.

All ages, but most common in children.

• Fever.
• Muscle aches and stiffness, especially in the neck.
• Fatigue.
• Headache.
• Reddish rash on the head and body after the 2nd or 3rd day. The rash lasts 1 or 2 days.
• Swollen lymph glands, especially behind the ears and at the back and sides of the neck.
• Joint pain (adults).

Rubeola virus spreads by person-to-person contact. Patients are contagious from 1 week before the rash appears until 1 week after it fades. Epidemics are most common in springtime - December to March.

• MMR which is given at approximately 15 months of age, gives protection against Rubeola.
• Non-pregnant women of childbearing age should be immunized if they have not had German measles or have not been immunized. Pregnancy should be prevented for 3 months following immunization.
• A person--especially a pregnant woman--who is exposed to German measles, who has not had it or been immunized, should receive a gamma globulin (antibodies) injection. If taken soon after exposure, this may prevent or reduce the severity of the disease.
• When not to immunize?--A child should not be immunized if he or she has an altered autoimmune system, as with cancer; currently takes cortisone or anticancer drugs; is receiving radiation therapy; or has an illness with fever.

• Observation of symptoms.
• History and physical exam by a doctor.

• Encephalitis (Inflammation of brain). (rare)
• Thrombocytopenia (low platelets). (rare)
• Agranulocytosis (low WBCs). (rare)
• Miscarriage or catastrophic birth defects.

Spontaneous recovery in 1 week in children, longer in adults. Symptoms are usually quite mild.

TREATMENT

Exposure of any pregnant woman to a case of German Measles. Exposure includes contact with the infected person 1 week prior to, during, or 1 week after the infection. This woman should consult her obstetrician immediately.

For minor discomfort, one may use non-prescription drugs such as acetaminophen. Don't give aspirin to children. Research shows a link between the use of aspirin in children during a virus illness and the development of Reye's syndrome (a type of encephalitis).

• The following occurs during treatment:
  • High fever.
  • Red eyes.
  • Cough or shortness of breath.
  • Severe headache, drowsiness, lethargy or convulsion.
• Unusual bleeding occurs 1 to 4 weeks after the illness (bleeding gums, nose, uterus or scattered blood specks on the skin).