Rubella

General information about a disease

The rubella is understood as an acute viral infection which belongs to the category of so-called children's infections, that is, most often it meets at children's age. The name of a disease "rubella" came from characteristic color of rash which for several days covers a body of the sick person.

The rubella is known to doctors since the Middle Ages, and and in those days it was widespread almost everywhere. Nevertheless, throughout many centuries scientists considered that the rubella at children is absolutely harmless. Communication of a disease with pre-natal child mortality and inborn uglinesses at kids was proved only in the forties the last century then rubella inoculation was included in national calendars of vaccination of dozens of countries of the world.

What causes a rubella and as it is transmitted?

The causative agent of a rubella is the virus from group of togavirus. From the person to the person he is given in the airborne way at direct contact with infected. Also the transtsplatsentarny way of transfer of a rubella at which the child catches in mother's womb when the virus passes to a fruit through a placenta is also known.

The causative agent of a rubella can exist comfortably only in a human body. In external environment he quickly perishes because of ultraviolet rays, change of pressure, insufficient humidity and high temperature. In the conditions of low temperatures the virus, on the contrary, lives long and keeps productive capacity within several years.

Insidiousness of a virus of a rubella is that the incubation interval of a disease lasts from 2 to 3 weeks. Respectively, the sick person becomes infectious long before the first adverse signs are shown. Let's notice also that at the diagnosis a rubella symptoms at children can be absent in general. As a result, one sick child quite often infects all surrounding, and doctors bethink only when children have characteristic rashes on a body.

The outbreaks of a rubella happen time in 5-7 years. Annual aggravations happen during the spring and summer period, but do not constitute special danger because of efficient preventive actions. The last case of large-scale epidemic was registered in the 60th in North America. Then more than 20 million people had, and after the outbreak of a rubella at thousands of pregnant women children with these or those inborn uglinesses were born.

Rubella types

Depending on a way of infection, the rubella at adults and children is subdivided into two look:

• the acquired rubella – proceeds in the most various forms, is followed by emergence of rash on a body, but can have also an atypical clinical picture of development at which rash is not formed. Besides, in 30% of cases any symptoms of a rubella in general are absent that considerably complicates statement of the correct diagnosis and provokes distribution of epidemics. Usually the disease proceeds in an easy or medium-weight form, and patients are treated at home. Hospitalization is shown only at emergence of heavy complications which, however, are extremely rare;
• the inborn rubella – is much more serious, than the acquired infection. It concerns both manifestations, and possible effects among which it is possible to note especially defeats of a nervous system, heart diseases, disturbances in work of eyes and acoustic organs.

Due to the aforesaid there is a wish to make one essential remark: the rubella occurs at adults rather seldom as an overwhelming part of people have in the childhood, and the received immunity remains for life. At the moment not less than 85% of women have immunity to an infection by the time of approach of reproductive age.

Rubella symptoms

The acquired form of a rubella proceeds cyclically. Symptoms of a rubella begin with:

• indispositions;
• headache;
• short-term fervescence;
• joint pains;
• emergence of melkopyatnisty rash of pink color (appears for 2-3 days of a disease, extends on all of a body).

Unlike measles, separate elements of rash have no tendency to draining and disappear without pigmentation or a peeling. Characteristic symptoms of a rubella – a hyperadenosis on a neck and in occipital area. Symptoms of fever and intoxication or are insignificant, or completely are absent. In many cases the disease proceeds in an inappartny form when rubella symptoms at children are expressed very poorly that results in impossibility of statement of the correct, timely diagnosis.

Treatment of a rubella

Treatment of a rubella is usually carried out in house conditions. The child needs to provide a bed rest, good nutrition, vitamin-rich, plentiful drink (preference is given to juice and fruit drinks, carbonated drinks – are excluded).

Specific treatment of a rubella is not carried out. Specialists watch a condition of the child, use symptomatic means. At emergence of complications urgent hospitalization is shown, but as it was already told above, need for it arises extremely seldom. Forecasts of treatment – favorable. In most cases the rubella disappears several days later and does not lead to serious effects. After healing of people gains lifelong immunity. Cases when the rubella at adults was shown repeatedly are known to medicine, but these are the most rare exceptions caused by features of immune system of the person.

For prevention of epidemics the preventive rubella inoculation and isolation of the infected children is used. It is very important to exclude communication of the sick child with pregnant women as at future mothers without immunity it can lead to fruit malformations.

Vaccination of the population is included in a national calendar of inoculations. The vaccine is entered intramusculary or subcutaneously when the child is one year old. Revaccination from a rubella becomes in 6 years. Specific immunity appears at 100% vaccinated and remains during all life.