Rubella: what it is, characteristics, symptoms and guidelines

THE Rubella is a virally transmitted disease caused by Rubivirus of the Togaviridae family as it is an extremely serious and acute disease, are we going to know a little more about this disease and its consequences?

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE "Rubella" DISEASE

Rubella, also known as German measles, is a rare disease scenario, that is, it does not affect so many people in some parts of the world, especially in the Brazil, reaching less than 15 thousand cases per year, the disease is transmitted by the virus of rubella itself, it is a contagious disease that can be transmitted by a simple cough or even sneezing through nasopharyngeal secretions, an interesting factor of the disease is that a person can transmit rubella even not knowing that you still have the infection, this transmission can occur a week before, that is, from 5 to 7 days, and it can be before or after the beginning. of the disease.

A factor of great importance and attention is that rubella can mainly infect pregnant women in the prenatal phase, bringing serious complications for both mother and fetus:

• It can affect the mother early in the pregnancy, that is, the first trimester
• Congenital malformation such as deafness, malformation in the organs and cardiac system, growth factor delay, cataract, intellectual disability
• This disease can be considered congenital due to the fact that during pregnancy the mother passes the disease on to the child, with this factor, the disease became known as CRS (Congenital Rubella Syndrome) with these aggravating factors there was more attention in specific cases in the area of epidemiology.

TRAJECTORY OF DISEASE IN BRAZIL

Rubella in Brazil was still a factor of unknown scope for many, it was only in the early 1980s that the disease began to gain greater visibility due to population, which until then was unknown, in view of this, the need arose to open fields of research to analyze and fight the disease, reaching the definition that antibodies would be a major attack against rubella, so it was necessary for these antibodies to reach the bloodstream of the human body, with emphasis on vaccine against rubella, called triple viral vaccine, which serves to fight the 3 types of serious infection level diseases such as: measles, mumps and rubella, the vaccine was still very restricted at that time, only children from 1 to 11 years old could receive the dose, over the years it was extended to age group.

Main points:

• 1998 to 2000, vaccine campaigns to alert women, especially those of childbearing age, between 12 and 49 years of age
• 2004 Second dose of vaccine against disease, target audience was children 4 to 6 years old
• In view of the great campaign, the vaccine was expanded to men up to 40 years of age, and women aged 49 years, who cannot go beyond this age group.
• With campaigns and the intensification of epidemiological surveillance, it reduced 80% of cases, from 2003 to 2006

Unfortunately in 2006 there were some big outbreaks in some Brazilian states, like Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Paraíba, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, who in 2007, 19 states suffered from the outbreak of the disease, data show that that year there were more of 6,000 confirmed cases, men were the main ones to be affected by the disease, reaching 75% of confirmed cases disclosed.

With the campaign intensifying the search for protection from the disease in 2008, there was a decrease in the range age for both men and women, from 20 to 39 years, reaching 97% the target of vaccines for population.

In 2009, there were no more confirmed cases of rubella in Brazil, so much so that it won a disease eradication certificate in 2015, but nowadays we are experiencing major outbreaks of mumps.

SYMPTOMS

Symptoms during the illness can be diverse:

•  Like a low-grade fever, that is, to a lesser degree,
• The eyes can get to a more reddish level, being an alert
• The person infected by the disease may experience muscle discomfort, joint pain
• The feeling of being sick,
• In some cases, lumps, nodules behind the ear, in the neck may appear, that is, you need to be very careful in these cases
• Mucosal irritation (nasal congestion)
• Skin rashes, and this factor may not yet be considered a symptom of the disease specifically, but from other diseases of similar content, that is why it is important to have medical follow-up for the exam. specific

GREAT RISK FACTORS

• The first factor that is the main one to fight the disease is to take the MMR vaccine, if not Taking the vaccine, the disease can indeed infect the individual and generate serious problems, such as mumps, measles
•  Travelers are the main target, especially when traveling to states, cities or even abroad in Brazil, which has the highest incidence of cases, it is extremely important to have the vaccine up to date, protected.
• The national vaccination program already establishes that people who are younger than 29 years old already have two doses of the vaccine.
• The major risk factor is the approach of people already infected by the disease, which can transmit it in different ways, as already mentioned.
• Newborns are the most affected by the disease, as they have not yet received the dose of the vaccine, they only receive it after 12 months of life.
• Even vaccinated adults are not fully protected from the disease it is extremely important that after some time the vaccine is reinforced to prevent the appearance of the same

GUIDELINES FOR INDIVIDUALS ALREADY WITH THE DISEASE

• Rest is extremely important, especially to relieve muscle and joint pain,
• Use of medications that make it possible to lower the level of fever and body aches
• Avoid places with many people so that they are not contaminated
• And follow all the guidelines given by the doctor, even if the disease does not have a specific treatment 

A point of great importance that must be emphasized is that if the person has already had rubella disease, they have no chance of having the disease again, remaining immune for the rest of their life.

As much as the disease has been eradicated in Brazil, efforts against the disease cannot be stopped, as rubella unfortunately occurs in large quantities in several parts of the world being able to reach Brazil through tourists who are not up to date with the vaccination, so it is extremely important to maintain the campaign against diseases infectious diseases.

Other articles:

• Liver
• Arachnids
• Amebiasis, what is it?