Rubella is a fever-producing, rash illness caused by a virus of the Rubivirus genus. The illness is usually mild, but if it occurs during the first 3 months of pregnancy, it can cause serious defects in the unborn child.
Rubella occurs more often in the winter and spring months.
You get rubella by exposure to airborne droplets from the nose or throat from a person infected with rubella virus. Rubella can also be transmitted by direct contact. Painful swelling of the lymph nodes at the back of the neck often precedes development of the skin rash. The rash, which lasts for 3 days or less, usually starts on the face and spreads from head to foot. Up to 50 percent of individuals who get the disease do not develop a rash.