Donald Murphey, MD, of Texas Medical Association's Council on Science and Public Health, discusses rubella -- also called “German measles,” which is a contagious disease caused by a virus. The illness can be especially dangerous for pregnant women and their unborn babies, causing miscarriages and birth defects.
A tell-tale pink rash is the most common symptom.
Vaccination is the best way to prevent rubella among infants, children, teens, and adults.
Rubella is one of several vaccine-preventable diseases that makes its way to the United States when unvaccinated people get infected during international travel, according to TMA’s December, 2018 Texas Medicine magazine (see www.texmed.org/TalkRubella).
Millions of people contracted rubella in the early 1960's, before a vaccine was introduced and began to be widely administered to people in 1969.
TMA features one vaccine-preventable disease per month in this public awareness series. Diseases featured thus far include: Pertussis (whooping cough); chickenpox and shingles; measles; HPV, and influenza.
Check out the series at www.texmed.org/Talk, and get your shots for you and your loved ones!
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