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In Australia, rubella has been officially eliminated – a gesture that proves the success of vaccination, said Health Minister Greg Hunt.
The World Health Organization confirmed Wednesday that viral infection, also called German measles, no longer exists in Australia.
Rubella is a contagious disease with mild symptoms, including fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes. But its consequences can be serious.
When contracted by a woman in early pregnancy, she can cause miscarriage, stillbirths at birth or long-term problems for the baby, including: deafness, vision problems, brain inflammation, malformations heart disease, liver disease, bone disease and stunting
Rubella is caused by a different virus than measles and is neither as infectious nor as severe as measles. Last year, there were several outbreaks related to overseas visitors.
million. Hunt said the elimination of rubella in Australia sent a powerful message about the effectiveness of vaccinations.
The advice of medical experts is absolute – vaccines save lives, protect lives, and are an essential part of a healthy society, "he said.
Professor Elizabeth Elliott of the University of Sydney told Fairfax Media that she had at the beginning of her career seen children born deaf, suffering from eye and heart problems as a result of the pain. exposure to rubella in early pregnancy.
"Some of these children had microcephaly or small brain and were therefore developmentally delayed … actually confining this child to a life where they had a
" They were children whose mother might have had a rash or fever during pregnancy, which was often pretty trivial. "
The Australian National Immunization Program, which provides government-subsidized vaccines, provides free rubella vaccination for 12-month-olds, with a booster at 18 months.
"I salute the efforts of Australian health professionals over the decades and the millions of parents who ensure that their children are always vaccinated," said Hunt.
Australia also has a surveillance system to quickly detect and respond to rubella cases, Hunt said.
The country has had a rubella epidemic, with the highest number of cases officially reported in 1958 (over 5000 cases), 1963-64 (at least 3000 cases), and in the early 1990s (over 4000 cases). case
The WHO reported that only eight rubella cases had been reported in Australia so far this year.They were considered most likely to be the result of introductions of the disease.
The WHO also confirmed Wednesday that Australia had maintained its measles elimination status, which had been verified in 2014.
[] AAP
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