But we do want people, especially pregnant women, to know about the increased risk. She said travelers who could expose pregnant women to the illness also should be aware of the dangers. Beginning in 1971, children in kindergarten through fifth grade in Texas were required to be vaccinated for rubella. Since September 1991, a rubella vaccination has been required for school admission in all grades. Rubella, sometimes called German measles or three-day measles, is a viral illness typically spread from person to person by droplets from the nose or throat of an infected person.
Transmission usually requires close contact.
The rash usually lasts a few days. Persons with rubella are infectious from one week before to one week after the onset of the rash. The incubation period, or time from exposure to the development of symptoms, is from 12 to 23 days. Health officials say half the people who get rubella have no symptoms. Persons who have been vaccinated against rubella are considered immune to the illness 30 days after receiving the vaccine.