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Health department officials confirm four Rubella cases

By Rose Hooper
In this season of coughing and sneezing, airborne allergens such as pollen aren't the only particles floating in the air to be concerned about.

So is Rubella, which is spread through coughing, sneezing or even talking. Also known as German measles, the disease is spread by direct contact with nasal or throat secretions of infected individuals.

"You have to come in contact with the secretions, which are heavy droplets in the air. But because they are droplets, they don't stay suspended in the air long like chicken pox," said Sharon Higgins of Harris Regional Hospital's infectious disease department.

Recent concern surfaced, she said, when a member of the Hispanic community visited the HRH emergency room recently. "We questioned it and couldn't confirm the case until the results came back from the lab. But it was Rubella, so we referred them to the Jackson County Health Department."

"The person first reported having the symptoms May 3," said Lewis Beck, nursing supervisor at the health department. Since then, he said, the health department has seen three more closely-related cases from the same community.

Coupled with the Rubella outbreak in Henderson County, local health officials are trying to get the word out about the need for immunizations.

"In the United States, we have an aggressive health care system and most children get their shots. When a child is 12 months old, they are given the Measles, Mumps, Rubella shot all in one dose, followed up at age 4-6, then again at age 12. But other countries don't have such a health care system, and we're seeing special populations now in Western North Carolina who have not had their shots," Higgins said.

Those born before 1957 don't have to worry about getting the shots or the disease, Lewis said. "Rubella was so widespread back then that these people are considered immune by natural causes."

But others who haven't had the shots, or the disease, may be highly susceptible to the contagious virus.

Pregnant women are at special risk, Lewis said, since the disease can cause birth defects in unborn babies. Rubella can result in a miscarriage, stillbirth or the birth of an infant with abnormalities, which may include deafness, cataracts, heart defects, liver and spleen damage and mental retardation. Congenital Rubella Syndrome occurs among at least 25 percent of infants born to women who have had Rubella during the first trimester of pregnancy Rubella may present few or no symptoms. Symptoms may include a rash, slight fever, joint aches, headache, discomfort, runny nose and reddened eyes. The lymph nodes just behind the ears and at the back of the neck may swell, causing some soreness and/or pain. The rash, which may be itchy, first appears on the face and progresses from head to foot, lasting about three days. As many as half of all rubella cases occur without a rash. The case in Jackson County's emergency room exhibited a rash, Higgins said.

The incubation period for Rubella is 12 to 23 days; in most cases, symptoms appear within 16 to 18 days. Rubella may be transmitted from seven days before to seven days after rash onset. "There are no treatments, just avoidance with the general public," Lewis said.

The health department is offering vaccines free of charge to those who need them. "We are also offering vaccine clinics in places of employment and in private homes, if need be," Lewis said. For more details, contact him at 586-8994.

Back to Archive: 05/25/00.