Monday, October 8, 2007

Did you get your Rubella vaccination?



Stopping Rubella in URBE!

Rubella is an infection caused by a virus. Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) is an important cause of severe birth defects. When a woman is infected with the rubella virus early in pregnancy, she has a 90% chance of passing the virus on to her fetus. This can cause the death of the fetus, or it may cause CRS. Even though it is a mild childhood illness CRS causes many birth defects. Deafness is the most common, but CRS can also cause defects in the eyes, heart, and brain. It is estimated that there are 700 000 deaths due to CRS each year.

Mild reactions to the vaccines include:

  • Fever: As with the single-antigen measles vaccine, about 5% to 15% of children develop a mild fever within five to 12 days of receiving the vaccine.
  • Rash: Again as with the measles vaccine, about one in 20 children develop a mild rash about five to 12 days after being immunized.

* info taken from World Health Organization at http://www.who.int/immunization/topics/rubella/en/index.html

Have you got your vaccination against Rubella? No!!! What are you waiting for?

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