- The ARC - California Edition -

Rubella and Travel to Mexico

During the past three years, rubella, also known as German measles, struck mostly people 15 and older. Eighty percent of the 567 rubella cases reported from 1994 through 1996 had afflicted mostly teens and adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, the NEW rubella was mainly caught by persons who had been born outside the United States in countries without a vaccination program.

A rubella vaccine was developed in 1969, during a time when 57,686 cases of the disease were being reported nationwide. The vaccine prevents rubella in 95% of those vaccinated. Rubella usually runs its course in a few days, but it can cause birth defects such as cataracts, hearing and heart trouble, and mental retardation in babies born to women who become infected while pregnant.

The Texas Department of Health recently began warning travelers heading into Mexico about the potential risk of contracting rubella. About 300 cases of rubella have been reported since January 1, 1998 in Reynosa in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas. So far this year (four months) 157 cases have been reported within the United States and 36 of these occurred in Texas.