For a century and a half, rubella was known as one of the most “harmless” childhood diseases. Over the past decades, this view has completely changed: rubella poses a serious problem for future generations.
This is an acute viral infection, which in children is almost always mild, and in pregnant women it causes multiple malformations of the fetus.
The virus is transmitted from a sick person through airborne droplets when sneezing, coughing, or talking. With the mucus of the upper respiratory tract, the virus begins to be released into the environment 1-2 weeks before the onset of the skin rash and then another 2-3 weeks. In children with congenital rubella, it is excreted within 1.5-2 years after birth.
Rubella is more common in the winter and spring. An increase in incidence is observed every 6-9 years, which can lead to epidemics.
In children, the disease is usually mild or asymptomatic. Adults suffer from rubella much more severely. From the moment of infection to the appearance of signs of the disease, an average of 18 days pass. The disease begins with general malaise, short-term fever, and decreased appetite. Sometimes there is a slight runny nose and inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eyes - conjunctivitis. The main symptoms of rubella are swollen lymph nodes in the neck and a finely spotted rash. The rash appears on the face, spreads to the body and disappears after 3-5 days.
More often, complications develop in adults. Women are characterized by arthritis: inflammation of the knees, wrist joints and hands. In severe cases, rubella can be complicated by hemorrhages in the eyes, internal organs, brain, as well as encephalitis - inflammation of the membranes of the brain and hepatitis - an inflammatory process in the liver. In children, complications are very rare.
Rubella in women during pregnancy leads to intrauterine infection of the fetus and the development of “congenital rubella syndrome”. It is characterized by the so-called classic triad: cataracts (clouding of the lens of the eye), congenital heart defects and deafness. Congenital rubella syndrome occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy when infected with this infection in half of the cases; in the second trimester - in 1/3 of cases. If the expectant mother has rubella later in pregnancy, the only consequence may be deafness. In addition, after rubella during pregnancy, children may be born with malformations of the hard palate, bifurcation of the upper lip (cleft palate and cleft lip), pigment spots on the skin, low body weight. Subsequently, they are diagnosed with mental retardation and diabetes mellitus.
The only preventative measure for rubella is vaccination. Therefore, the World Health Organization recommends vaccinations for all children aged 1 and 6 years, adolescent girls at 13 years, and women of childbearing age (who are not pregnant or have not previously had rubella). Some vaccines protect only against this infection, but there are also complex ones - against measles, mumps and rubella at the same time. Immunity after vaccination develops in 15-20 days and lasts for more than 20 years. Vaccines are safe and easily tolerated. In very rare cases, there is a slight increase in body temperature and redness at the injection site. Teenagers and adult women may experience enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, tenderness and swelling in the joints that disappear within 2-4 weeks, and a short-term rash. After vaccination, women should be protected from pregnancy for 3 months. Remember that reactions to the vaccine occur in only 2% of people, and its effectivenessity - 100%.
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