Rubella: symptoms, transmission and prevention
After an incubation period, ranging from two to three weeks, the disease shows its first characteristic signals: low-grade fever, lymph nodes and appearance of pink spots, which spread the first face and then the rest of the body. Rubella is commonly confused with other diseases as symptoms such as throat and headaches are common to other infections, complicating the diagnosis. While not severe, rubella is particularly dangerous in the congenital form. In this case, you can leave irreversible consequences in the fetus such as glaucoma, cataracts, cardiac malformation, growth retardation, deafness and others.
Transmission
It is caused by a virus of the genus Rubivirus , the Rubella virus . The Rubella is an infectious disease that mainly affects children between five and nine years. Transmission occurs from person to person, usually by issuing droplets of respiratory secretions of patients. It is infrequent transmission through contact with recently contaminated objects secretions nose, mouth and throat or blood, urine or faeces of patients.Congenital rubella happens when a pregnant woman gets rubella and infect the fetus because the virus crosses the placenta.
Prevention
Immunity is acquired by natural infection or vaccination , and lasting after natural infection and remained for most of his life after vaccination .Children of immune mothers usually remain protected by maternal antibodies around six to nine months after birth. To decrease the circulation of rubella virus, vaccination is essential. Children should get two doses of vaccine combined against rubella, measles and mumps (MMR) : the first, with one year of age; the second dose four to six years. All adolescents and adults (men and women) also need to take theMMR or double viral vaccine (diphtheria and tetanus) , especially women who have had no contact with the disease. Pregnant women can not be vaccinated. Women of childbearing age should avoid pregnancy for 30 days after vaccination . In the case of infection, it is recommended that the person rubella (child or adult) who is spaced apart not contracted the disease.
