Rubella

At a glance

Vaccine preventable – check who’s eligible
Vaccine included on the National Immunisation Program – check who’s eligible
Nationally notifiable disease

About rubella

Rubella is a vaccine-preventable illness caused by the rubella virus.

It can cause a mild illness with a rash and flu-like symptoms. But infection during pregnancy can be very serious.

Rubella is sometimes called ‘German measles’, but it is different to measles.

Vaccination is the best prevention.

Why it matters to public health

Rubella is highly contagious, even in people with no symptoms or mild symptoms.

If infection occurs during pregnancy, especially in the first 10 weeks, it can cause:

miscarriage
stillbirth
a serious, lifelong condition called congenital rubella syndrome.

Rubella used to be a common childhood illness in Australia. Because of routine vaccination, Australia has eliminated local spread of rubella.

But it is still common in many countries, so people who get infected overseas can bring rubella into Australia.

Because of this, we:

monitor and report on rubella in Australia
plan for how to manage outbreaks.

Symptoms

If you’re looking for advice about your own health or treatment options, see healthdirect or speak with a qualified healthcare professional. Our role is to provide public health advice – information and guidance that helps prevent disease, protect communities and improve wellbeing at a population level.

Up to half of people with rubella will have no symptoms or very mild symptoms.

Common symptoms include:

rash – which usually starts on the face and spreads to the body
fever
headache
runny nose
red, irritated eyes (conjunctivitis)
swollen glands
joint pain.

Rarely, more serious complications can include:

inflammation of the brain (encephalitis)
low platelets, leading to bleeding problems (thrombocytopenia).

Rubella during pregnancy can be serious. Babies are most at risk of congenital rubella syndrome if infection happens in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The risk decreases after 12 weeks.

Congenital rubella syndrome can cause chronic conditions in babies, including:

deafness
intellectual disability
heart problems
eye problems.

Read more about the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of rubella.

healthdirect’s symptom checker can help you decide whether to see a health professional.

Check your symptoms

Onset of symptoms

Symptoms, if present, usually start 2 to 3 weeks after infection.

How it spreads

Rubella can spread between people:

through respiratory droplets when people talk, cough or sneeze
through direct contact with respiratory secretions
by touching items contaminated with the virus, and then touching the mouth, nose or eyes
during pregnancy, when the virus passes to the unborn baby.

Infectious period

People are usually infectious from about 1 week before until 1 week after the rash appears. They are most infectious when the rash first appears.

Babies with congenital rubella syndrome can shed the virus for up to 1 year after birth.

Prevention

Vaccination

Get vaccinated

The best way to protect against rubella is to get vaccinated.

The rubella vaccine is given in a combination vaccine with measles, mumps and sometimes chickenpox.

Vaccination is recommended for:

children aged 12 months or older
adolescents and adults born during or since 1966 who have not received 2 doses of rubella-containing vaccine.

Vaccination is especially important for people who:

are healthcare workers
work in childhood education and care
can become pregnant – but pregnancy should be avoided for 28 days after vaccination.

Eligible people can get rubella-containing vaccines for free under the National Immunisation Program or state or territory programs. If you are not eligible for a free vaccine, you can buy one from your health professional or pharmacy.

Rubella containing vaccines should not be given to:

pregnant people
people who are severely immunocompromised.

Other prevention steps

People with rubella should follow the advice of their healthcare professional about how to reduce the risk of spread to others. This might include:

staying at home
staying away from certain settings – including healthcare facilities and other places with pregnant people and young children
avoiding contact with people who can become pregnant and anyone not immune to rubella.

People who are pregnant should see a healthcare professional immediately if they have been around someone with rubella. Their healthcare professional might recommend medicines, called immunoglobulin, to reduce the risk of infection.

Priority groups and settings

Some people are at greater risk of getting rubella or getting very sick from it.

If you are at greater risk, it is especially important to take steps to protect yourself.

People at greater risk of severe disease

Rubella poses a greater risk of severe illness to unborn babies of pregnant people who are not immune.

In certain settings, rubella might pose a higher risk to the people in the setting. These include:

early childhood education and care centres
healthcare facilities.

People at greater risk of exposure

People at greater risk of exposure to rubella include those who:

travel or work in countries where rubella is common or an outbreak is occurring
live with or have other close contact with someone who has rubella.

Diagnosis and treatment

Rubella is usually diagnosed through a blood test.

It can also be diagnosed through a:

throat or nose swab
urine test.

You can use healthdirect’s directory to find a health service near you.

Find a health service

There is no specific treatment for rubella. Most people with rubella recover on their own without treatment.

For babies born with congenital rubella syndrome, treatment will depend on their illness and its impacts.

Read more about how to manage or treat rubella.

Surveillance and reporting

Rubella is a nationally notifiable disease – these are diseases that present a risk to public health.

Health authorities in each state and territory report new laboratory confirmed and probable cases of rubella to us through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

This is part of our surveillance activities, which help us monitor case numbers around the country and understand disease patterns.

We analyse the data and report on case numbers and other data through our data visualisation tool, where you can filter and search the latest information.

Outbreaks

During a rubella outbreak, public health authorities might:

provide tailored public health education and messaging about rubella
promote awareness of rubella and the importance of vaccination to groups at greater risk
alert healthcare professionals in the area about the risk
advise pregnant people who are not immune to avoid settings where spread has occurred.

Read more about how the Australian Government defines and plans for outbreaks.

Support

For more information about congenital rubella syndrome, see Rare Awareness Rare Education.

For information about rubella in each state or territory, see:

If you need mental health support, see a list of organisations, websites and services that offer support, counselling and information.