The Health Ministry has announced that cases of rubella in Japan have reached a five-year high and are likely to continue to increase over the next few months.
According to doctors, in the week ending Feb 24, at least 219 people were treated for rubella, the highest infection rate in five years. TBS reported Wednesday that ministry medical records show a total of 1,029 people have been treated for rubella since the beginning of this year, a figure 23 times higher than the same period of last year.
The peak period for rubella infections is spring to summer, according to doctors. As a result, the ministry expects the number of infections to continue to increase and is calling for the families of pregnant women to request rubella vaccinations as soon as possible.
The ministry added that the symptoms of rubella include a fever, a rash, and swelling of the lymph nodes behind the ears. Doctors also said that rubella can be especially dangerous for pregnant women, whose children could be born with eye, ear and heart defects.
© Japan Today
11 Comments
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Matt
Isn't MMR a standard vaccination?
nath
Sounds scary!
Steve Fabricant
Matt and David are both correct. It's a scary disease and the vaccination is readily available, but a lot of stupid people refuse to have it for reasons that may have some tiny medical validity but are insignificant in respect to the risks of not getting it.
basroil
Steve FabricantMar. 07, 2013 - 09:23AM JST
Yes, people are irrational, and the media loves to attack vaccines despite the fact that they are far safer than the alternative! Ignorant people can't get scientifically valid assessments through the media and end up causing cases like this.
Disillusioned
Don't they vaccinate for rubella in Japan? Unbelievable!
napoleancomplex
they give MMR vacines, there is a purpose for it..
PeaceWarrior
Many children are not vaccinated for rubella in Japan (blame that on some scares and mismanagement) and when they do get it, it's often later on than in other countries.
kimuzukashiiiii
Children in Japan do recieve the MR vaccine (Measles and Rubella) either as a single shot or two separate ones in Japan, between 12-90 months.
However vaccines in Japan are not mandatory, although refusing to get them will cause problems if you wish your child to enter public hoikuen.
The article above says that over a thousand "people" were diagnosed with Rubella, not over a thousand children, so perhaps there is a particular age range who missed out on this vaccination, and they can target this age range now for vaccination.
Disillusioned
Rubella back up vaccinations are given to all girls in Australia at 15 years old. They do it in schools. It is a terrible disease for pregnant women and can cause horrible deformities and deaths in unborn babies. I guess Japan is not as much of a 'developed country' as I thought.
nath
What makes you think Japan is developed in the first place? Just because they have fast trains...?! lol
Hellsvien
@bilderberg_2015 I'm 100% sure it's more devolved than where you come from with the comment you made. LOL!
Yes Rubella is a terrible thing!