Back when America was still a British colony and the candle was the primary lighting fixture, a German physician named Daniel Sennert (1572–1637) noticed a red rash on some of his few patients. He named it röteln, or rubella, from a Latin word meaning “red.” More than 2 centuries later, German researchers shed more light on the illness, distinguishing it from the more serious version of measles, which also causes a red rash. That’s how rubella came to be known as the German measles.

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Also called 3-day measles, rubella is a virus that’s spread by inhaling the respiratory secretions, such as a cough or sneeze, from an infected person. Symptoms, such as a mild fever, headache, red eyes, and stuffy nose, usually appear about 2 weeks after infection. The telltale sign is a fine pink rash that starts on the face and spreads to the torso, arms, and legs; it lasts for about 3 days. Roughly three out of four adult women who contract German measles experience arthritis-like symptoms in their fingers, wrists, and knees for a month. In rare instances, the virus can lead to an infection of the ear or, more dangerously, the brain.

Because the rubella infection is mild and often requires no treatment, experts believed that it was harmless. But in 1941, an Australian physician discovered that the virus can attack a pregnant woman’s fetus, resulting in birth defects, deafness, cataracts, and growth retardation. Fortunately, a vaccine for the virus was developed in 1969. This measles, mumps, and rubella, or MMR, inoculation is given to all children at 12 to 15 months of age, and then again to girls between 4 and 6 years old in an effort to protect future pregnancies. Because of the vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that rubella has been nearly eliminated in the United States.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

  1. About half of countries worldwide use the rubella vaccine.
  2. In 1999, there was a rubella outbreak of 12 cases in Arkansas.
  3. Rubella is contagious about a week before the rash develops, and then for 1 to 2 weeks after it disappears.