Why You should be Vaccinated for Rubella?

Rubella virus causes rubella, also known as German measles and congenital rubella syndrome. Humans are the natural host. That means that the virus is only found in humans, therefore, you will not acquire it from any animal.

The virus cause disease in adults but its effects on the fetus are far worse. If the mother is not immune against it, and she acquires the virus during pregnancy, there is a high chance that your baby develops significant congenital malformations of the heart, brain and the eyes.

• ·         patent ductus arteriosus

• ·         cataracts

• ·         deafness

• ·         mental retardation

So how do you get the immunity?

You will have life long immunity if you are infected with the virus. If not, the only way to get the immunity is by vaccination.

Good News for Americans

In 2005 the centre of disease control announced that USA has eradicated the disease from their country. This is a result of extended immunization programs. There have been several cases reported after that but they are cases acquired from outside the country.

Are you infected with Rubella? How to Diagnose?  

pregnant? vaccinated?  

References:

Review of Medical Microbiology & Immunology - 10th Ed

Are you infected with Rubella? How to Diagnose?

The diagnosis of Rubella is done by several methods. They are,

• ·         Observing the virus’ ability to interfere with echovirus CPE

• ·         observing a fourfold or greater rise in antibody titer between acute-phase and convalescent-phase sera in the hemagglutination inhibition test

• ·          ELISA

• ·          observing the presence of IgM antibody in a single acute-phase serum sample

These words may confuse you, so let me explain how the immunity develops and how the diagnosis is done.

Rubella is a virus, so when the virus enters your body the body recognizes the virus and produce antibodies which fight against the virus. The kind of antibodies produced at the beginning are called IgM antibodies. When the time passes the body starts to develop the kind of antibodies which are called as IgG antibodies.

In vaccination what happens is that we introduce an inactive part of the virus to the body’s immune system, so it can produce the above antibodies without the actual virus infection.

We can check the blood for above two types of antibodies. If the blood contains IgM antibodies, that indicate recent infection with the virus. If it is IgG type, so it is past infection and indicate immunity, so there is nothing to worry about.

References:

Review of Medical Microbiology & Immunology - 10th Ed

Preparing for Pregnancy – Immunization

As I said previously, preparing for pregnancy should begin from the childhood. I am not saying that you should put in your little girls mind about getting pregnant. I am saying that if you have a little girl, you should provide her with the optimum care. It is essential for her future life, whether she gets pregnant or not. It is important for her to have a healthy and bright future.

Let’s get back to our main topic. What are the vaccines that are important in pregnancy? The first vaccine given for girls to prevent congenital abnormalities of her children is Rubella vaccine. It is a live attenuated vaccine. Now many countries have included this vaccine in their vaccination programs.

If you have any query, just leave it on comments, I am always looking forward to answer them all.

Most of the countries give the vaccine for both girls and boys before their puberty. Some developing countries give in only for boys. Now you might thing why it is given for boys. It is to prevent transmission. If the boys are not vaccine, they can transmit the virus to girls.

All the women in reproductive age group are given the vaccine. So, if you have not taken the vaccine, you should have it before you get pregnant, because Rubella infection during pregnancy creates severe congenital abnormalities in the fetus.  It is advised that you do not get pregnant until 3 months after vaccination, but the very few mothers, who have got the vaccine while they are pregnant, have not shown any congenital abnormalities.

Another congenital infection, which can be prevented by vaccination, is Hepatitis B virus infection. It is given for those who are high risk of acquiring the virus, like doctors, and nurses. Even you have not taking the vaccine, you can prevent from its infection by practicing hygienic methods, and by taking precautions when dealing with blood and blood products.

Chicken fox vaccine is another important vaccine that you should take before you get pregnant, if you have not got the infection in your childhood. If you get this infection while you are pregnant, it can be detrimental for both the fetus and the mother.