Teratogen update: Congenital rubella

Association of congenital microtia with environmental risk factors in South Korea

“…The symptoms of rubella are non-specific, such as chills, headache, myalgias, rash, mild fever, and lymphadenopathy. Rubella can also affect pregnant women, and can have serious effects on the fetus including congenital anomalies such as rubella syndrome and fetal loss [25,26]. Therefore, rubella vaccination before pregnancy is recommended to women who are not immunized against rubella, and women who were not vaccinated before pregnancy should be isolated from suspected infections.…”

Severe aortic regurgitation: An exceptional cardiac manifestation of congenital rubella syndrome

“…Cytopathic damage to blood vessel walls and endocardium and subsequent ischemia result in the cardiac lesions [6]. In this patient, AR probably resulted from viral-related postinflammatory valvular damage.…”

Congenital rubella syndrome and delayed manifestations

“…Rubella infection contracted by a woman in the early stages of pregnancy may cause miscarriage, stillbirth or serious health problems for the affected foetus. From birth the baby may have mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss, cataracts, cardiac problems, or damage to the brain and nervous system [2,3]. Delayed manifestations are symptoms/diseases with onset later in life, but are still directly or indirectly caused by the rubella infection and the resultant damage to the embryo.…”

“…Sensorineural deafness is the most common rubella-associated defect and mainly results when rubella infection occurs in the first 16 weeks of gestation [3]. Next to congenital hearing loss, emergent late-onset deafness after the first year of life had been reported [18].…”