SPECIMEN: 2 mL (1 mL min.) serum from 1 SST. Ship refrigerated or frozen.

STABILITY: Room: 8 hrs; Refrigerated: 1 week; Frozen: 4 weeks

REPORT: Daily

PRE-TEST INFORMATION: No special preparation required.

USAGE: Rubella is a viral exanthematous infectious disease caused by Rubella virus. The illness follows a typically benign clinical course with rare complications and is subclinical in a large proportion of cases. Symptomatology is generally mild, characterized by fever, malaise, a maculopapular rash of 3 to 5 days duration and possibly coryza and conjunctivitis. The disease is usually accompanied by lymphadenopathy. Infection confers lifelong immunity. Rubella-specific IgM antibody is found in virtually all infected patients by 3 weeks post rash development. It is also found in 80% of post-vaccination patients by 3 weeks. Congenitally infected infants will show an IgM response at 2 to 12 weeks postnatally. Primary prenatal infections may have devastating effects leading to Congenital Rubella Syndrome in the neonates. This syndrome includes low birth weight, cataract, deafness, congenital heart disease and mental retardation.