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Rubella and Neonatal Effects Essay example

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Rubella and Neonatal Effects Rubella is an essentially harmless disease that resembles measles, however, it is highly teratogenic to a developing fetus. If a pregnant woman contracts rubella, the fetus is at risk to develop Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) which can result in tissue and organ damage. Proper nursing interventions and teaching should be done to prevent the spread of rubella and to lower the rates of CRS.
A History and Epidemiology for Rubella
Until the 18th century, rubella was often confused with measles and scarlet fever. In 1952 and 1958, two German scientist were able to isolate the rubella virus and it was given the name “German Measles” until 1866 when a Scottish physician gave it the name “Rubella” (Duszack, …show more content…

After sixteen weeks of gestation, the risk of fetal death, malformation, and miscarriage is much less. “Since the effects of CRS vary with gestational age at the time of infection, accurate gestational dating should be established, as it is critical to counseling” (Dontigny, Arsenault, & Martel, 2008, p. 155).
Consequences of Maternal Infection for Unborn Fetus
The rubella Virus is very teratogenic, and should a maternal infection occur, the developing fetus might develop congenital rubella syndrome. As said earlier, amount of injury to the developing fetus is highly dependent on what stage of development the fetus is in. The rubella virus targets all organs and tissues of the body and has a wide range of effects.
Tests to determine Maternal and Fetal Infection
Tests can be done to determine maternal or fetal infection of the rubella virus. According to Dontigny et al. (2008) if maternal infection is suspected, a serology test using enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) is used to test for rubella-specific IgM and IgG antibodies in maternal blood. A rise in rubella IgG antibodies, a positive serologic test for IgM antobodies and a positive rubella culture are essential to maternal diagnosis of infection (Dontigny et al., 2008). If maternal infection has been determined, test to determine if the virus has spread to the fetus should be performed

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