Rubella Has Officially Been Eradicated From The Americas

Rubella, otherwise known as the German Measles, has now been officially eliminated in North and South America. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) notes that not a single case has even existed in the past five years in the aforementioned areas.

"This is a historic achievement for the Americas," said Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of PAHO.

This viral pathogen is transmitted via coughing or sneezing and is characterized by a low grade fever and rash that typically lasts up to three days on average, according to the Mayo Clinic. Rubella can be extremely dangerous in pregnant women who could hold a high risk of delivering a child with birth defects and in more severe instances, infant death. Statistics show that during the mid-1960s, the incidence of infant mortality and morbidity due to rubella-related birth defects rose by thousands in the United States alone.

Health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) still advise use of the rubella vaccine as the most effective way to prevent spreading the illness, as well as preventing reemergence. 

It was in 1969 that the first licensure of vaccines against rubella first took place. Since then, it has become part of the recommended immunization programs used throughout the world. The last case of rubella in the Americas was estimated to have occurred in Argentina in 2009.