Rubella screening and immunization: its history and future-an ongoing challenge

The Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) continues to be a serious threat to the unborn child, since a significant number of women of childbearing age are susceptible to rubella. Vaccines and immunization programs, since their inception, have given us a false sense of security in our assumption that they have provided adequate protection. The ultimate purpose of immunization is the eradication of CRS; but to achieve this, an understanding of the evolution of vaccines and immunization programs is essential, in order to provide appropriate immunization today.This paper provides a review of rubella vaccines; immunization programs; current recommendations for screening and immunization; and the report of a five-year surveillance study of women of childbearing age, which found 17% of the subjects to be susceptible to rubella.