Rubella - ways of transmitting the virus, the first sign and treatment

Rubella belongs to the category of acute infectious diseases. Most often, it is diagnosed in children, but rubella symptoms in adults are identical. The spread of the disease can only be contained and the risk of infection minimized through vaccination.

Modes of Rubella Transmission

The cause of the disease is a virus that has penetrated the human body. It is very sensitive to ultraviolet rays and dies almost instantly with temperature fluctuations in the environment and changes in humidity levels. Modes of rubella transmission include:

• Airborne (droplet) – this is common, meaning one can get infected from a sick person, and close contact is not necessarily required;
• Transplacental – the virus is transmitted from an infected mother to the fetus, overcoming the placental barrier.

Rubella outbreaks are observed every 5-7 years, and the peak of this disease occurs in the spring and summer. Despite such frequent epidemics, they do not pose a danger to most people, as modern medicine knows various preventive measures.

Symptoms of the Disease

Among the initial signs of rubella in a child are:

• Non-intense headache;
• General weakness and increased drowsiness;
• Brief increase in body temperature to subfebrile levels;
• Aching sensation in large and small joints.

This condition troubles the patient for several days – 2-3 days. Neither symptomatic treatment nor folk remedies bring relief. Appetite is preserved, and increased thirst is noted, which often leads to an incorrect diagnosis and improper treatment.

The first signs of the disease in childhood are often subtle – a child may not feel unwell at all and remain active. In adults, however, the course is more severe – with severe dizziness, complete refusal of food, and high body temperature.

Within a maximum of three days from the onset of malaise, the most characteristic sign of the disease appears – a rash. What the rubella rash looks like:

• Spreads throughout the body;
• Appears as small pink or reddish pimples without internal content;
• There are separate foci of rashes that do not merge with each other.

A characteristic feature of the rubella rash is that it disappears quickly, does not cause itching or burning, and is not followed by peeling or crust formation. This helps differentiate rubella from measles and chickenpox.

If rubella progresses with complications, the cervical and axillary lymph nodes may become inflamed and significantly enlarged. They remain painless on palpation but cause discomfort – the patient finds it difficult to chew and swallow food and liquids, and cannot lower their arms or press them firmly against their torso.

Rubella Treatment and Prevention

Rubella treatment is symptomatic – doctors will not prescribe specific medications. However, patients with severe symptoms (this applies to adults or children with HIV) should be hospitalized in an infectious diseases ward. It is important to ensure:

• Adequate nutrition;
• Abundant fluid intake;
• Vitamin complexes.

If there is a pregnant woman around a sick person, she must be examined. This is because the virus can cross the placenta and infect the fetus, leading to serious developmental pathologies or intrauterine fetal death.

Disease prevention involves vaccinations, which are carried out according to the childhood vaccination schedule. The rubella vaccine is given at one year of age and provides protection against infection for several years. A booster vaccination is administered at 6 years of age. If a person has had rubella once, they develop lifelong immunity to the virus. Exceptions occur, but very rarely and only against a background of unstable immunity.

Many are concerned about a possible adverse reaction to the rubella vaccine – mild signs of the disease, general malaise. However, this only means that the child's immune system is actively fighting the weakened virus. Statistically, the rubella vaccine is considered the safest for a child's health.

All information on how rubella progresses in adults, what IGG antibodies to the rubella virus mean during pregnancy, and what to do when the first signs of the disease appear, can be found on our website Dobrobut.com.