The scare began Feb. 9 when one patient was diagnosed with the disease. Since then, all 650 staff members and the other 159 patients were vaccinated unless they could prove they were immune to rubella, said hospital administrator Barbara Peterson. Patients also have not been able to leave the hospital grounds, and people have not been allowed to visit without proof of immunity to the contagious viral disease, she said. Eight patients and employees were suspected of being infected, but some may have been false positives, Peterson said. Symptoms include upper respiratory tract infection, fever, swollen lymph glands and a rash with small spots.
Rubella can cause congenital malformations if a pregnant woman is exposed to it.
The virus still is present at birth, and a baby can be contagious. Peterson said the hospital has some pregnant employees. The Department of Health's epidemiology staff and Dr. Raul Rudoi, pediatrician at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, assisted the hospital in dealing with the potential outbreak. Dr. Paul Effler, chief of the DOH Epidemiology Branch, said blood samples were first sent to a mainland commercial laboratory, then redirected to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm the results. To err on the side of caution, we consider those cases to be rubella cases unless proven otherwise.