31 March 2013/19 Jumada l-Ula 1434/11 Farvardin 1391/20 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

More than 12 months ago Japanese media warned of the growing number of Rubella/German Measles cases.  Reports said that there were significant increases in the previous three years involving adult cases, and most people who got sick were men.  Now, Japanese media reporting a 22% increase in adult cases in the first eleven weeks of Gregorian year 2013.

In January 2012 there were 19 reported cases in Japan, in January 2013 there were 254 cases!  Compare that to the yearly average, between 2008-2011, of 288.

Rubella can be spread through the air, by coughing, sneezing or just simple breathing.

Rubella will cause birth defects in pregnant women, and there have been increased cases of pregnant women in Japan getting sick and giving birth to children with defects, such as holes in their hearts or deafness and/or blindness.

Rubella/3 Day Measles is often thought of as a childhood disease, but what’s been happening in many Asian countries is that more and more adults are getting infected. People in Japan are being told to get vaccinated before they travel outside of their country, even if they got vaccinated as children, because it turns out that the vaccine is only temporary: “For some people, the concentration of antibodies may decrease even if they’ve been vaccinated in the past…”-Katsuhiro Komase, Japan’s Infectious Disease Surveillance Center

The problem in Japan is that the vaccine is not free, people wanting the shot must pay $50 to $100 per shot.  Some local governments are trying subsidize the vaccinations.

Another problem is that back in 1993 Japan banned the three shot MMR (mumps, measles, rubella combo) vaccine, because many children had severe reactions to it, such as non-viral meningitis.  Japan uses a vaccine specifically for rubella.

Japanese health officials have traced most virus samples back to Thailand, Vietnam and Philippines.  Vietnam has ordered a major eradication program.

Since 2011 Vietnam has been dealing with the new rubella.  By the end of 2011 50% of all abortions performed were because of severe birth defects as a result of rubella infection.   A recently published study by Vietnamese health officials said: “Rubella virus identified in Vietnam belonged to the genotype 2B. Importantly, the infection rate of rubella virus in fetuses/newborns was 100%….”

The Philippines started having trouble with rubella in 2010.  By 2011 the government started a door to door vaccination program. Recently the British Colombia Centre for Disease Control, in Canada, reported cases of rubella that were all “…compatible with acquisition during travel to the Philippines.”

In 2012, a rubella/measles outbreak in several European countries was blamed on people coming back from trips to Thailand.

In India, health officials there are now telling women who plan to get pregnant to get vaccinated at least three months prior.

In the United States, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that there were three cases of newborns affected by rubella in 2012, the first time since 2008.   The U.S. was even declared rubella free in 2004.

The biggest risk is for the unborn children of pregnant women.  U.S. health officials say women should not get the vaccine while pregnant.  Women should wait at least 28 days after getting the shot before getting pregnant.  If adults are not sure if they’ve been vaccinated, they can have their blood tested to see if they have immunity to rubella.