Americas Region Becomes First To Eliminate Rubella (German Measles).

points out that the rubella “virus is usually mild, but it can cause birth defects and miscarriages when women are infected during pregnancy.” But, even though German measles has now been “eliminated in the Americas, it’s still prevalent in other regions in the world.” Yesterday, Dr. Susan E. Reef, the team leader for rubella in the [CDC’s] Global Immunization Division, said, “Now that we have achieved this goal” of eliminating rubella in the Americas, “the next step is to maintain it.” reports that WHO “officials said it has been more than five years since there’s been a German measles case that originated in the Americas.” In other words, “the only cases in the region are imported from other parts of the world.” Five years represent “enough time to certify German measles as the third infectious disease to be eliminated from the Americas, they said,” following the elimination of smallpox “in 1971 and polio in 1994.” http://time.com/3840211/americas-eliminate-rubella/