Presentation and course
Postnatal (acquired) rubella infection. Rubella infection in adults and children is usually a mild febrile illness associated with variable degrees of malaise, pharyngitis, upper respiratory symptoms, and regional lymphadenopathy (with postauricular, suboccipital, and posterior cervical lymph nodes typically involved). Rubella is transmitted by respiratory droplets, and local replication in regional lymphoid tissues occurs prior to viremia. Prodromal symptoms typically last a few days prior to development of the rash, and fever generally abates once the rash has appeared. The rash is classically a macular erythematous exanthem, which typically starts over the face and is most prominent over the neck and trunk. Although individuals with rubella are most infectious when the rash is appearing, virus can be shed from 7 days before to 5 to 7 days after the onset of the rash; thus, the overall period of infectivity lasts approximately 2 weeks.
With primary infection, older age is typically associated with more severe symptomatology in the acute phase of the illness. Many infections in younger children, however, may be entirely asymptomatic: an estimated 20% to 50% of infections are asymptomatic. Although acquired postnatal rubella is typically self-limited and without sequelae, the most common complication of acquired rubella infection is arthralgia, which can occasionally present as overt arthritis. Post-rubella arthralgia is described more commonly in women and is typically self-limited, occurring from the time of rash and lasting up to 3 weeks. Encephalitis is a rare but serious complication of rubella infection and is estimated to occur in 1 per 5000 to 6000 rubella cases (27). Encephalitis generally presents within a week of the rash, though confirmed cases exist wherein no rash was reported. Presenting symptoms of rubella encephalitis are nonspecific, including fever, headache, vomiting, altered mental state, and seizures. Focal neurologic signs are uncommon. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shows a mild to moderate lymphocytic pleocytosis with normal glucose and moderately elevated total protein. EEG typically shows nonspecific generalized slowing. Brain MRI shows focal cortical or diffuse T2 hyperintensity, the latter finding typically seen with diffuse cerebral edema. The clinical course is generally brief, lasting days, and in the current era, outcomes are favorable in spite of a reported fatality rate of 0% to 20%.
Congenital rubella syndrome. The most serious consequence of rubella infection is congenital rubella syndrome affecting the fetus as a result of the acute infection of a pregnant woman. Congenital rubella syndrome is a complex entity as the timing of maternal infection is paramount in considering risk to the fetus (see prognosis and complications). Congenital rubella syndrome may variably involve multiple organ systems and may present with both transient and permanent deficits. Further complicating the protean manifestations of congenital rubella syndrome is that some conditions associated with it may not be recognized until later in life, even in adulthood.
The most common neonatal manifestations of congenital rubella syndrome include sensorineural hearing loss, dermal erythropoiesis ("blueberry muffin syndrome"), hepatosplenomegaly, thrombocytopenia, and low birth weight (30). The most common complication overall is sensorineural hearing loss, which is typically bilateral. Other common complications include cardiovascular anomalies and ophthalmological problems. In the cardiovascular system, patent ductus arteriosus and pulmonary artery stenosis are most common. Other cardiac complications include atrial and ventricular septal defect, as well as myocarditis. Ocular manifestations include microphthalmia, nuclear cataracts (often unilateral), and pigmentary retinopathy (often asymptomatic) (04). The most common ocular finding is pigmentary retinopathy. The cataracts and pigmentary retinopathy may progress after birth; however, cataracts may not progress and resolve spontaneously.
Cataracts and heart disease typically result from maternal infection in the first 8 weeks of pregnancy when the fetal eyes and heart are being formed. Deafness, retinopathy, and neurologic damage generally occur with infection in the first 17 weeks. Multiple defects are common when infection occurs in the first 8 weeks, but unusual after that.
Nervous system abnormalities outside of sensorineural hearing loss include intellectual disability, behavioral and language disturbances, microcephaly, and meningoencephalitis. It is important to recognize that congenital rubella has been associated with childhood autism and affective disorders (01; 29). Cerebral calcifications are rare, though when present, they tend to be periventricular. Generally, children with intellectual disability from congenital rubella have concomitant hearing and visual abnormalities.
Other manifestations of congenital rubella syndrome include short stature, transient hemolytic anemia or thrombocytopenia with or without purpura, metaphyseal "celery stalking" changes in long bones, jaundice or hepatitis, transient pneumonitis, transient generalized lymphadenopathy, cryptorchidism, inguinal hernia, and dermatoglyphic abnormalities.
More than half of infected children with congenital rubella syndrome may be asymptomatic at birth but develop sequelae over the following years. Late-onset hearing loss has been reported up to 10 years of age. Active intraocular infection has been described in the third decade of life, emphasizing the virus may persist for decades (34). About 20% of congenital rubella patients develop type I diabetes mellitus as late as 33 years of age. These patients show an increased frequency of certain HLA haplotypes and autoantibodies, similar to other insulin-dependent diabetics. Thyroid problems, early menopause, osteoporosis, and precocious puberty have been reported, but their relationship to rubella has been questioned (03).
Rare cases of progressive rubella panencephalitis resulting from the persistent rubella infection have been described, following both congenital rubella as well as childhood postnatal rubella (35). Presenting symptoms typically begin in the second decade of life and include progressive cognitive impairment with seizures and cerebellar dysfunction, evolving over years to include upper motor neuron findings, progressive dementia, and ophthalmoplegia. The absence of myoclonus and the presence of cerebellar signs help distinguish this syndrome clinically from subacute sclerosing panencephalitis from measles.
Prognosis and complications
Fetal risk associated with maternal rubella infection is predicted by the immune status of the mother and the timing of maternal infection. Maternal infection just before conception carries negligible risk (05). Maternal reinfection or asymptomatic infections pose a lesser threat to the fetus than does a first symptomatic infection (21). Fetal infection rates in asymptomatic maternal infection are 0% to 19%, with fetal defects in only 0% to 4%. For comparison, maternal reinfection during the first trimester results in fetal infection in only 5% to 8% of cases, most of which are subclinical (04).
Highest risk to the fetus is associated with a primary symptomatic maternal infection, and prognosis for the neonate depends not only on the timing of the infection but also the extent of fetal infection and injury. Congenital rubella infection in the first trimester of pregnancy may result in miscarriage (spontaneous abortion rate of 4% to 5%), fetal death (stillborn rate of 1% to 2%), premature delivery, or congenital anomalies. Up to 90% of infants born to mothers who are infected during the first 11 weeks of gestation will develop congenital rubella syndrome (18). Rates of anomalies are 60% for maternal infection at 11 to 16 weeks, 6% with maternal infection at 17 to 30 weeks, and 0% with maternal infection after 30 weeks. Thus, infections later in pregnancy are rarely associated with congenital rubella syndrome after the 16th week, though deafness may occur with infection up to week 20 (11). Serious permanent sequelae of congenital rubella syndrome occur in about 50% of children infected during the first month of pregnancy but is much lower in later infections. The mortality rate in the first year of life is 10% to 20% and typically impacts only the most severely affected infants. With later onset of infection, growth retardation during preschool years, small head circumference, hearing loss, and cataracts can be the only findings. Congenital rubella is probably underdiagnosed, especially among affected children who have sensorineural hearing loss as the only deficit.
The presence of delayed manifestations of congenital rubella syndrome underscores the importance of careful follow-up of these patients; an altered immune system presumably allows complications to take place later in life. About 5% have some form of thyroid disease starting in their teenage years, 20% have diabetes by the age of 35 (susceptibility to this complication varies between populations, higher in Caucasians and in individuals with the HLA A1-B8 haplotype), and progressive rubella panencephalitis is a rare but ultimately fatal delayed manifestation of congenital rubella syndrome.
Clinical vignette
A 33-year-old female from South Asia in her third trimester of pregnancy presented to a United States hospital in labor. After a spontaneous vaginal delivery, the infant was found to have microcephaly with low birth weight, a systolic murmur, and no response to auditory stimuli. The liver and spleen were palpable, and laboratory evaluation was significant for elevated transaminases. Cerebrospinal fluid was normal. Echocardiography confirmed patent ductus arteriosus and pulmonary artery stenosis, and auditory testing revealed severe hearing impairment. His mother described a flu-like disorder with arthralgia of small joints early in the second trimester of pregnancy and had received limited prenatal care. Although she had documentation of vaccinations, review of WHO data indicated that her home country did not support a rubella vaccination program. Among serological tests, rubella IgM was highly positive, and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction of nasopharyngeal secretions was also positive for rubella virus. The child was placed in contact isolation with droplet precautions. Avidity testing confirmed high IgG avidity, suggesting rubella infection had occurred during gestation. Upon discharge, caregivers and potential close contacts were educated about precautions to prevent transmission and close follow up was arranged with multiple specialties. Liver enzymes returned to normal over 4 months. Nasopharyngeal specimens were collected every 3 months until virus was no longer detected by PCR. The child engaged in physical and educational treatment programs and was being followed up for late manifestations of congenital rubella syndrome.