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Published On: Sat, Nov 16th, 2013

Japan: Rubella cases top 14,000 for 2013

The number of cases of Rubella, or German measles, has topped the 14,000 mark, with the highest number of cases being reported from the Osaka and Tokyo Metropolis Prefectures, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention travel update Friday.

Image/CIA

Image/CIA

The federal health agency reports, as of October 16, 2013, 14,171 rubella cases have been reported in Japan during 2013, compared to 2,353 rubella cases reported in 2012.

Most cases occurred in the spring and summer which is the peak period for rubella in Japan.

According to the CDC, Rubella is a disease spread by the coughs and sneezes of infected people. Symptoms include rash and fever for 2 to 3 days. Some people do not feel sick. If a pregnant woman gets rubella virus, her baby could have birth defects such as deafness, cataracts, heart defects, mental disabilities, and organ damage.

So far in 2013, 16 babies were born with birth defects caused because their mothers had rubella, compared to 5 babies in all of 2012.

Prevention of rubella is through vaccination. The only rubella vaccines available in the United States are the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccines.

In addition to vaccination, they recommend practicing good hygiene (handwashing) and keeping hands out of faces as other measures to protect yourself.

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About the Author

- Writer, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch. Robert has been covering news in the areas of health, world news and politics for a variety of online news sources. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the website, Outbreak News Today and hosts the podcast, Outbreak News Interviews on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify Robert is politically Independent and a born again Christian Follow @bactiman63

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  1. Japan suffers worst year of children born with congenital rubella syndrome in 2013 - The Global Dispatch says:

    […] latest numbers on total rubella cases showed the Asian country with 14,171 rubella cases as of Oct. 16, 2013. This compares with 2,353 rubella cases reported in […]

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