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Remembering The Pre-Vaccine Era: The Diseases of Childhood

Many of us of a certain age have vivid memories of the “diseases of childhood.”

We remember missing weeks of school, sky-high fevers, spots and pox, cheeks so puffed from mumps that eating was impossible, for days. Our mothers, for they did most of the parenting back then, would intentionally expose us to sick kids, so we’d get the scourges over with ASAP. The lucky among us made it through with just a pockmark or two.

I had the injected Salk polio vaccine as a toddler, but by the time my sister crunched her pink sugarcube of oral polio vaccine years later, I understood why vaccines were part of life. Protect many and you protect nearly all, because the infection can’t…

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Articles of Interest

Measles & Rubella Partnership

The Measles & Rubella Partnership is committed to ensuring that no child dies from measles or is born with congenital rubella syndrome. We help countries to plan, fund and measure efforts to stop measles and rubella for good.

Henrietta Lacks Wasn’t the Only Woman Who Unknowingly Contributed to Medical History

The untold story of the aborted fetus that helped create the rubella vaccine.

New strategy for a measles and rubella free future

PHE makes recommendations on the steps needed to maintain the UK’s elimination status for measles and rubella for future generations.

Pregnancy and Rubella

Rubella is very dangerous for a pregnant woman and her developing baby. Anyone who is not vaccinated against rubella is at risk of getting the disease. Although rubella was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2004, cases can occur when unvaccinated people are exposed to infected people, mostly through international travel. Women should make sure they are protected from rubella before they get pregnant.

Rubella and pregnancy: What you need to know

There is no vaccination for rubella for pregnant women in Uganda currently but according to Dr Justus Mwesigire, a peadiatrician at the Surgery Clinic in Naguru, the country plans to add rubella vaccination to the routine child immunisation this year.

Rubella Has Been Eliminated From the Americas, Health Officials Say

Rubella is less contagious than measles, and the vaccine for it is somewhat more effective, so the rare imported cases have not spread as rapidly. The rubella vaccine was first developed in 1969 by Dr. Maurice Hilleman, a prolific vaccine inventor.

Rubella's elimination from Australia 'shows vaccinations work'

Rubella, a highly contagious viral disease that can result in miscarriage, stillbirth and birth defects has been eliminated across the country, the World Health Organization announced on Wednesday. The illness – also known as German measles – causes a fever, rash, joint pain and swollen lymph glands. If contracted by pregnant women during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy it can result in miscarriage or stillbirth or cause life-long medical issues for their babies.

Vaccines: 1, Rubella: 0

Rubella is still out there in the world, though, so if you’re traveling, make sure your immunizations are up to date.

What Zika Researchers Can Learn From the Rubella Outbreak of 1964

The viruses have key similarities that may help scientists respond to a possible epidemic.

Resources

CDC

Rubella is a contagious disease caused by a virus. Most people who get rubella usually have a mild illness, with symptoms that can include a low-grade fever, sore throat, and a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. Rubella can cause a miscarriage or serious birth defects in a developing baby if a woman is infected while she is pregnant. The best protection against rubella is MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine.

NORD

Rubella is a viral infection characterized by fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, aching joints, and a distinctive red rash. Although it is sometimes called German measles or three-day measles, it is not caused by the same virus that causes measles.

ScienceDaily

Mumps, Measles, Rubella News.