Better health and ageing for all Australians

Communicable disease factsheets

Rubella

Rubella (German measles) is usually a mild febrile disease caused by a virus of the family Togaviridae, genus Rubivirus. This fact sheet covers: the disease and its agent; spread of infection; prevention; surveillance and reporting.

In this section:

The disease and its agent

Rubella (German measles) is usually a mild febrile disease caused by a virus of the family Togaviridae, genus Rubivirus. It usually affects children but can also affect adolescents and adults. Children may present with few symptoms, but if present include low grade fever, swollen glands, joint pain, headache, mild coryza, conjunctivitis and a rash which appears on the face and neck and lasts for two to three days. About 50 per cent of cases will not have recognisable rash. Complications of rubella include arthralgia and arthritis, mainly in females. Encephalitis is a rare complication, more frequent in adults than children.

Rubella is a serious disease during pregnancy because of its effects on the developing fetus. Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) may occur in up to 90 per cent of infants born to women who contract rubella during the first trimester of pregnancy. Early infection may also cause intrauterine death and spontaneous abortion. The incidence of congenital defects is rare if the disease is contracted after the 20th week of pregnancy.

Spread of infection

Spread occurs through airborne droplets or direct contact with the nose or throat secretions of infected persons. The incubation period is 14-21 days, and the period of infectivity is from 1 week before until 4 days after the onset of the rash. The disease is highly communicable. It is also most prevalent during winter and spring.

Prevention

In Australia rubella vaccine is routinely available as MMR (tri-valent vaccine consisting of measles-mumps-rubella vaccines), and is given as part of the standard vaccination schedule at 12 months and 10-16 years. The vaccine is also available as monovalent rubella. Both vaccine formulations are attenuated live rubella virus prepared in cell culture, and are highly effective in eliciting an immune response to rubella virus.

The excluded period for cases or suspected cases of rubella is at least 4 days after onset of the rash and until fully recovered (exclusion table).

Surveillance and reporting

Reported cases are collected through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, for national reporting through the Communicable Diseases Intelligence (CDI).

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