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.
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.
For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
[…] 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 […]