Factsheet for health professionals

Rubella (German measles) is a worldwide, mild, exanthematous and highly infectious viral disease of children in unvaccinated populations. Its prominence and the rational for immunising against rubella is the high risk of congenital malformations associated with rubella infection during pregnancy, something first observed by Dr Norman McAlister Gregg during the rubella epidemic in Australia 1940-41.

Factsheet for general public

Rubella is a mild, viral disease, common in unvaccinated children. Although it is mild in children, if pregnant women are infected it can cause serious problems for the baby.