title: Shedding of Rubella Virus among Infants with Congenital Rubella Syndrome Born in Tokyo, Japan, 2013-2014.
abstract: Rubella is usually a mild illness, with febrile rash being its main symptom. However, serious consequences of rubella infection can result when the infection occurs during the early stages of pregnancy. After the occurrence of a rubella outbreak in Japan that was observed from 2012 to 2013, 45 infants were reportedly born with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). We prospectively followed the 15 CRS cases reported in Tokyo to determine the virus shedding periods by using nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to detect rubella virus genes. Throast swabs were used for virus detection. The virus shedding period was measured from birth until the time when the sample last tested positive followed by 2 consecutive negative samples. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the proportion of cases remaining positive for rubella virus genes over time. The proportion of CRS cases shedding virus dropped steadily after birth, dropping to 33.8% at 6 months and 16.9% at 12 months. Our findings also suggested that the earlier the mother's onset of rubella during pregnancy, the longer the infant remained positive. Based on our findings, we believe that infants with CRS should be monitored for rubella virus shedding until 1 year of age.
authors.affiliation: Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health.
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugishita
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akiba
authors.forename: Masami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sumitomo
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayata
authors.forename: Michiya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Tokuko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsunoda
authors.forename: Terue
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okazaki
authors.forename: Konomi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murauchi
authors.forename: Yukinao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Akemi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kai
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Seki
authors.forename: Aya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kayebeta
authors.forename: Yuuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwashita
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurita
authors.forename: Narumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tahara
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010614:Pharynx / Q000821:virology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012410:Rubella Syndrome, Congenital / Q000821:virology*; D012412:Rubella virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013997:Time Factors; D014041:Tokyo; D017201:Virus Shedding