Congenital rubella

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Slit-lamp exam

Rubella on an infant's back

Congenital rubella

Treatment:

There is no specific treatment for congenital rubella. Care involves appropriate treatment of affected systems in consultation with your health care providers.

Expectations (prognosis):

The outcome fora childwith congenital rubella depends on the severity of the abnormalities present. Heart defects can often becorrected. Damage to the nervous systemis permanent.

Complications:

Complications may involve many parts of the body.

Eyes:

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Heart:

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
Pulmonary artery stenosis
Other heart defects

Central nervous system:

Mental retardation
Motor retardation
Small head (microcephaly) from failed brain development
Encephalitis
Meningitis

Other:

Deafness
Low blood platelet count
Enlarged liver and spleen
Abnormal muscle tone
Bone disease

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if you have concerns about congenital rubella, if you are unsure of your vaccination status, or if you or your child needs rubella vaccine.

References:

Edlich RF, Winters KL, Long WB 3rd, Gubler KD. Rubella and congenital rubella (German measles). J Long Term Eff Med Implants. 2005;15(3):319-28.

Bar-Oz B, Levichek Z, Moretti ME, Mah C, Andreou S, Koren G. Pregnancy outcome following rubella vaccination: a prospective controlled study. Am J Med Genet A. 2004 Sep 15;130(1):52-4.

Robertson SE, Featherstone DA, Gacic-Dobo M, Hersh BS. Rubella and congenital rubella syndrome: global update. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2003 Nov;14(5):306-15. Review.