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A spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (February 13) said that immunisation with rubella vaccine is the most effective way of preventing rubella infection. He urged women of child-bearing age to consult doctors to check for immunity against rubella and to consider the need for the rubella vaccination before getting pregnant.
The appeal followed two cases of congenital rubella infection in Hong Kong affecting newborn babies born to mothers who were Mainland residents.
The first case was a male infant delivered at full term in a private hospital in Hong Kong on January 7. He had pneumonia, a heart defect and other organ abnormalities at birth and was transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital on January 13. His serum tested positive for rubella IgM and his urine sample tested positive for the rubella virus. His condition was stable and he was discharged on February 1.
His mother is a Mainland resident who was admitted to the above hospital on January 6 for delivery. She had antenatal check-up in both Hong Kong and Mainland and showed no symptoms of rubella during the antenatal period. Her antenatal blood test done in Hong Kong in October 2011 at about 28 weeks pregnancy was rubella antibody positive, meaning that she had immunity against rubella or had experienced a previous rubella infection. The mother was not sure whether she had received a rubella vaccination before.
The second case was a female infant delivered on February 5 in Hong Kong. She was admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital and was found to have heart and brain abnormalities. She was transferred to Queen Mary Hospital on February 8. Her serum tested positive for rubella IgM and her urine sample tested positive for rubella virus. Her current condition is stable.
Her mother is a Mainland resident who had an antenatal check-up in Hong Kong and the Mainland. This was her third pregnancy. The mother had not received rubella vaccination before and was not sure about her previous rubella infection status. She did not have symptoms of rubella during the antenatal period. Further investigations are being carried out on the antenatal history of this pregnancy and her previous two pregnancies.
The spokesman explained that rubella infection, also known as "German Measles", is a highly infectious disease caused by the rubella virus. In susceptible pregnant women, rubella infection may cause anomalies in the developing fetus, known as congenital rubella syndrome. Congenital rubella syndrome is characterised by deafness, eye lesions, heart malformations and mental retardation. It mainly occurs in infants born to women who got infected during the first three months of pregnancy.
"Immunisation with rubella is the most effective way to prevent the disease. Non-immune individuals are advised to consult their doctors about rubella vaccination, which is usually given together with measles and mumps vaccines. Women of child-bearing age planning to get pregnant should consult doctors to check for rubella immune status and the need for rubella vaccination," the spokesman said.
"Women who are tested negative for the rubella antibody may approach their family doctors for advice and vaccination.
"Women attending antenatal care who are unaware of their immune status should be tested for rubella antibodies and, if negative, be vaccinated immediately post partum," he said.
In Hong Kong, routine rubella vaccination has been provided to all girls at primary six since 1978 and given together with measles and mumps vaccines (MMR) to all children at one year old since 1990. A routine second dose of MMR at primary one was introduced at 1996. The coverage of MMR vaccination in Hong Kong is over 95 per cent at primary one.
The CHP has issued letters to doctors bringing the two cases to their attention and providing appropriate advice in managing patients.
Ends/Monday, February 13, 2012
Issued at HKT 19:44
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