Rubella (also known as epidemic roseola, German measles or three-day measles) is a disease caused by the Rubella virus. The virus usually enters the body through the nose or throat. The disease can last 1-5 days. Children recover more quickly than adults.
The name German measles has nothing to do with Germany. It comes from the Latin germanus, meaning "similar", since rubella and measles share many symptoms.
Rubella can affect anyone of any age and is generally a mild disease. However, rubella can cause congenital rubella syndrome in the fetus of an infected pregnant woman.
Prevention and treatment
Fewer cases of rubella occur since a vaccine became available in 1969. Most people are vaccinated against rubella as children at 12-15 months of age. A second dose is required before age 11.
Symptoms are usually treated with acetaminophen until the disease has run its course.
There are two "forms" of measles: rubeola (the "ordinary" kind), which causes more serious symptoms and can do permanent damage, and rubella ("German"measles), which is very benign if you have it as a child or an adult but can induce severe birth defects in womem infected early in pregnancy.
Measles is a disease which usually produces fever, cough, conjunctivitis ("pink eye", but not quite the same as the "pink eye" seen with colds and earaches), a red, bumpy rash, and a rash ("Koplik's spots") inside the cheeks.
Measles immune globulin is available and can prevent measles, or at least make it milder than it otherwise would be, if it is given to someone who isn't yet immune within 6 days of exposure.
Measles is spread through respiration (contact with red measles fluids from an infected person's nose and mouth, either directly or through aerosol transmission), and is highly contagious measles in brazil measles pictures - 90% of people without immunity sharing a house with measles rash an infected person will catch it.
The vaccinationgermanmeasles clinical manifestations is generally not given earlier than this because children younger than 18 months usually retain anti-measles immunoglobulins transmitted from the mother during pregnancy.
Measles is a significant infectious disease because, while the rate of complications is not high, the disease itself is so infectious that the sheer number of people who would suffer complications in an outbreak amongst non-immune people would quickly overwhelm available measles history hospital resources.
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