Rubella vaccines are on the Australian Immunisation Schedule and recommended for
- children ≥12 months of age
- adolescents and adults born during or since 1966 who have not received 2 doses of rubella-containing vaccine, particularly
- healthcare workers
- childhood educators and carers
- women of child-bearing age who are seronegative for rubella
The disease
- Pregnant women who contract rubella are at high risk of early pregnancy loss, miscarriage, and still birth.
- 90% of babies exposed to Rubella (German measles) in the first few months (first trimester) of pregnancy will get Congenital Rubella Syndrome.
- Congential Rubella Syndrome causes, amongst other things, cataracts, loss of vision, loss of hearing, intellectual disabilities, heart abnormalities.
The vaccine
Rubella-containing vaccine is recommended for children at 12 months of age as MMR(measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine and at 18 months of age as MMRV (measles-mumps-rubella-varicella) vaccine.
All adolescents and adults born during or since 1966 should have either:
- documented evidence of 2 doses of rubella-containing vaccine given at least 4 weeks apart and with both doses given ≥12 months of age, or
- serological evidence of immunity to measles, mumps and rubella
- For more reading about the disease and the vaccine please see here.
- For more information about rubella in pregnancy, please see here, and here,
Page reviewed November 2018.