Page updated 30 April 2007
Guidelines for the Management of Pregnant Women who come into Contact with Rubella
- Establish previous rubella or rubella vaccination history in the pregnant woman.
- Take a clotted blood sample and request rubella antibody titre stating full history of contact, gestation of the pregnancy, any recent illness or rash, vaccination history and results of previous tests.
- If no antibodies are present, repeat tests will be needed at 28 days after exposure (or one week after the onset of an illness) to determine whether infection has been acquired.
- If there is a delay between the contact and the first specimen, it may be extremely difficult to determine the susceptibility of the mother to rubella at the time of contact.
- Detailed discussions with the virologists/microbiologists are then required.
 |
 |