Congenital rubella syndrome historical perspective
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: :Kalsang Dolma, M.B.B.S.[2]
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Congenital Rubella Syndrome Microchapters |
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Differentiating Congenital Rubella Syndrome from other Diseases |
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Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
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Case Studies |
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Historical Perspective
The link between congenital cataracts and maternal rubella infection was first made in 1941 by Australian ophthalmologist, Norman Gregg, who had noticed an unusual number of infants with cataracts following a rubella epidemic in 1940. In the absence of vaccination, rubella is an endemic disease with epidemics every 6 to 9 years. If rubella infections occurred among nonimmune pregnant women, CRS cases can occur. During the 1962–1965 global rubella pandemic, an estimated 12.5 million rubella cases occurred in the United States, resulting in 2,000 cases of encephalitis, 11,250 therapeutic or spontaneous abortions, 2,100 neonatal deaths, and 20,000 infants born with CRS.
In 1969, live attenuated rubella vaccines were licensed in the United States. The goal of the rubella vaccination program was and continues to be to prevent congenital rubella infections, including CRS. In 2004, an independent panel of internationally recognized experts in public health, infectious diseases, and immunizations reviewed the available data on rubella epidemiology and unanimously agreed that rubella elimination (i.e., the absence of year round endemic transmission) was achieved in the United States.