Causes
Rubella is caused by a virus that’s spread through personal contact, or by coughing and sneezing.
Rubella is serious only if a woman gets it while in the early stages of pregnancy. This can cause abnormalities in the newborn baby.
Children who have a rubella infection must be kept away from pregnant women. Rubella can seriously harm the unborn baby if the mother-to-be catches this virus.
Symptoms
Rubella starts like a mild cold, with a slight fever or sore throat, and swollen lymph glands in the neck.
A rash appears 2-3 days after these symptoms. Pale pink spots form on the face and spread to the chest, tummy and back. Gradually these spots merge to form patches. The rash lasts only a few days before going away.
The incubation period is from 2-3 weeks. Your child can pass on the infection for about five days before – and a week after – she first gets a rash.
Treatment
There’s no specific treatment for rubella. The best you can do is treat the symptoms – for example, use paracetamol for fever.
Prevention
If your child has rubella, he should stay at home until he’s been free of symptoms for at least a week. This will help stop the spread of the virus. You should keep your child away from anyone who could be pregnant.
Children are immunised against rubella at 12 months, then again at 4-5 years. The vaccine is given in combination with the measles and mumps vaccine. This is known as the MMR vaccine.
Some parents are concerned that the MMR vaccine is associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but no link has been found. If you have any concerns, discuss them with your doctor.
Our article on
vaccinations and ASD outlines the background to claims that childhood vaccinations cause ASD. The article explains that large-scale studies have failed to find any link.
