Some really good news for a change...
Rubella and rubeola share similar names. Both are caused by a virus.
Both cause a skin rash. And both are considered to be a type of measles.
Years ago a pre-marital blood test was required for syphillis...
and some public health labs also tested women for rubella immunity
Then the pre-marital tests were dropped, and the rubella test was given
when the woman was in her first pregnancy.
Now, I don't know what tests are being done for rubella, if any.
Quote:
If a pregnant woman is exposed to rubella, it can cause birth defects in the unborn fetus and even miscarriage.
The person with rubella may not even have significant symptoms, making it harder for them to know if they are ill.
This is why it is extremely important that a woman of child-bearing age is immunized against rubella
It must however be done at least one month prior to becoming pregnant.
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Rubella (German measles) eradicated from Americas
BBC News = 4/29/15
Quote:
North and South America have become the first regions of the world to eradicate rubella,
or German measles, after no home-grown cases in five years.
The virus - spread by sneezes or coughs - can lead to serious birth defects if contracted by pregnant women.
Up to 20,000 children were born with rubella in the Americas every year until mass vaccinations started.
But the last endemic cases registered in the region were in Argentina and Brazil in 2009.
The fact no new cases have been declared in five consecutive years, apart from those imported into the region,
allowed global health chiefs to declare the Americas free of the virus.
Eradication was "an historic achievement," said Carissa Etienne,
director of the Pan-American Health Organization, which is part of the World Health Organisation.
"The fight against rubella has taken more than 15 years," she said.
"But it has paid off with what I believe will be one of the most important
pan-American public health achievements of the 21st Century."
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