What’s Congenital Rubella Syndrome?

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Congenital rubella syndrome, or CRS, is a disease that affects a baby in the womb when the mother is infected with the rubella virus. Possible signs and symptoms of CRS include deafness and heart and eye defects. Your child’s mental and physical development may also be abnormal, and diseases such as diabetes may develop later in life. There have been fewer children with congenital rubella syndrome since the introduction of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, as the number of rubella cases has decreased.

A congenital disease is a health condition that exists at the time a child is born. Syndromes are conditions that consist of a series of symptoms found together. In the case of congenital rubella syndrome, symptoms are caused by the rubella virus harming the baby, or fetus, in the womb, usually during the first three months, or first trimester, of pregnancy.

This first trimester is an important time for fetal development, although the exact process by which the rubella virus damages fetal tissue is not fully understood. When the virus infects a fetus in the first trimester, problems almost always occur; infection during the fourth month or later leads to problems in only about a third of cases. If the rubella infection strikes after the fourth month of pregnancy, congenital rubella syndrome is much less likely.

The three main symptoms of congenital rubella syndrome are deafness; eye problems, such as cataracts; and heart defects. Worldwide, rubella is the most frequent cause of births of deaf children. The syndrome can interfere with fetal growth, resulting in low birth weight or premature births, or the baby can even die before delivery.

Brain and nervous system disorders can also result from congenital rubella syndrome, including brain infections, abnormal brain development, and a small skull. The liver may also be affected, causing jaundice or yellow skin, and both the liver and spleen may be enlarged. “Blueberry muffin spots,” which are purple or red areas that don’t lose their color when pressed on, may develop on the skin. There can also be blood problems such as anemia and there can also be bone disorders. In old age, diseases such as diabetes and thyroid problems can occur.

Treatment of congenital rubella syndrome involves managing any disorders that are present. You may need surgery to correct eye and heart defects, and sometimes deafness can be treated using cochlear implants, which are electronic devices that enable hearing. Prevention is important and immunization against rubella reduces the number of people who contract the disease. This leads to fewer women getting rubella during pregnancy and fewer cases of congenital rubella syndrome.

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