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Health Minister Greg Hunt has officially eliminated rubella in Australia, a testament to the success of the national immunization program.
The WHO reported that the contagious disease had been largely eliminated throughout the country and only seven cases had been reported this year.
Mr Hunt says the news "sends a powerful message that vaccinations work".
According to him, the PIN, which provides rubella vaccination in 12-month-olds with a booster at 18 months, has played "a vital role [in] this remarkable achievement in ensuring high levels of vaccination coverage against rubella ".
This news follows the release of the latest national vaccination rates for five-year-olds, who are now the highest ever, at 94.62%.
Australia has already experienced "persistent epidemics" of rubella. More than 5,000 cases were reported in the late 1950s and more than 4,000 in the early 1990s. However, the number of notifications has slowed over the last decade.
Rubella infection in women during the first 8 to 10 weeks of pregnancy results in miscarriage or fetal injury in approximately 90% of cases.
The WHO also confirmed that Australia had maintained its measles elimination status, which had been verified for the first time four years ago.
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