Word: rubella
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Immunology has already led to the control of many serious illnesses. Immunological research resulted in the development of vaccines against polio, once a major crippler of children, and rubella, or German measles, which can cause serious birth defects in the children of women who contract it while pregnant. It has led to a broader understanding of allergies and an effective method of preventing erythroblastosis fetalis, a blood condition that can prove fatal to infants shortly after birth...
...woman of childbearing age does not know whether she has ever had rubella (German measles)-and most women do not-the ideal time to vaccinate her is right after the birth of her first child. So says the Medical Letter, an ad-free newsletter published by a group of authoritative physicians. The reason behind the suggestion is simple: a woman who has just had a baby is not likely to become pregnant again for at least two months (although contraception should still be continued), and is therefore equally unlikely to expose her fetus to the risk of congenital rubella. Rubella...
...they are designed to control rare diseases. Most doctors have realized all along that flu and cold vaccines, which have been given to tens of millions of people, are of uncertain value. There is no challenge to vaccines used for combatting serious public health problems like polio, German measles (rubella) and measles...
Public health officials have concentrated their efforts on immunizing schoolchildren, who often transmit the rubella virus to pregnant women. Now the U.S. Public Health Service's Center for Disease Control in Atlanta is urging local authorities to turn their attention to the women themselves...
...disease. Blood tests developed recently make it possible to determine whether a woman has antibodies against the disease. If not, and if she is not already pregnant, she can be immunized easily. The CDC is encouraging state health departments to set up premarital and prenatal testing programs for rubella. A number of states have begun extensive testing, but so far, the procedure has been made a legal requirement only in Colorado and Oregon...