Rubella is a highly treatable disease. The infection brings the greatest danger to pregnant women, because. there is a risk of infection of the fetus and even death. It is important to timely detect antibodies to the rubella virus, which indicate that there is a causative agent in the blood.
Features of infection
Antibodies to the rubella virus IgG begin to be detected in the blood 3 weeks after infection. After recovery, antibodies will be present in the blood for life. This prevents re-infection.
The rubella virus is not able to live in the environment. In order to become infected, contact with the sick person is necessary. The disease most often affects children of preschool age. A pregnant woman, if she has not been ill before, remains at risk of infection, which can lead to severe malformations of the child.
Children tolerate the disease easily, while adults may develop complications such as polyarthritis or encephalitis.
If a womaninfected in the first trimester of pregnancy, the child will have congenital malformations. The central nervous system, heart, eyes and organs of hearing are more often affected. Pregnant women must be tested for rubella every trimester.
Symptoms of disease
The first signs of the disease are very similar to other viral infections. There is a risk of confusing it with acute respiratory infections, enterovirus infection or an allergic reaction. To confirm the diagnosis, class G antibodies to the rubella virus are taken.
The main symptoms are:
- temperature rise to +38o C;
- throat redness;
- runny nose, stuffy nose;
- weakness;
- conjunctivitis;
- enlarged lymph nodes;
- after a few days, small red spots appear on the body.
Rubella rash does not rise above the surface of the skin, it cannot be felt. When pressed, the spots disappear and quickly appear. The greatest distribution on the elbows, under the knees, on the buttocks. After 2-3 days, the red spots disappear.
With an atypical disease, the rash does not appear, then the doctor may not make the correct diagnosis. The suspicion that the patient is ill with rubella arises on the condition that shortly before the symptoms there was contact with the patient.
Indications for analysis
The doctor refers the patient for rubella antibody testing in the following cases:
- Women, duringpregnancy. Analysis is included in the list of mandatory manipulations.
- If there is a pathology of the fetus or a suspected infection.
- When planning a pregnancy. For 2-3 months, it is desirable to conduct an analysis for the presence of antibodies. In their absence, it is necessary to be vaccinated.
- When symptoms of illness occur. If rubella is suspected, even in the absence of a rash, they are tested to select a treatment.
- When the lymph nodes are enlarged, the analysis is prescribed to rule out infection.
You can take tests in public or paid clinics. In private, you can avoid queues and, in more comfortable conditions, take an analysis for a small fee, and also come at a convenient time. The price depends on the speed of execution, the level of the clinic, the quality of materials and equipment.
Rubella serodiagnosis
Blood is used to determine any class of rubella antibody. There are two ways to detect a virus:
- the presence of a virus in the blood;
- presence of rubella virus G antibodies.
The most revealing results are the presence of class G and M immunoglobulins. The higher the titer, the higher the virus content in the blood. The doctor with experience should decipher the tests.
To detect class M immunoglobulins, blood sampling must be carried out no later than 12 days from the moment of illness. If, during a second blood test, it is found that the antibodies have increased by 4 times, then it can be argued that the patient is sick with rubella. They are in the blood for 2-3 weeks and gradually disappear.
In the presence of only class G immunoglobulins, dothe conclusion is that a person has been ill and he has developed a strong immunity for life. Class G immunoglobulins appear later than M, which means that antibodies to the rubella virus have begun to be produced in the body and recovery will soon come. Determination of IgG is necessary to determine immunity to the rubella virus after an illness or vaccination.
There are statistics for the detection of M antibodies in the acute period of infection. When conducting an analysis on the first day of the rash, antibodies in the blood are found only in half of those diagnosed. On day 5, the number of patients with a positive diagnosis increases to 90%. On days 11-25, antibodies appear in all patients with rubella. IgM indicate that the person fell ill for the first time. 6 months after the disease, antibodies are found in 50% of patients. Sometimes indicators are stored up to 1 year.
In a newborn infected in utero, antibodies are detected within 6 months. If parvovirus B16 is present in the blood, the results are false positive.
Virological diagnostic method
To detect the virus, this method does not diagnose antibodies to the rubella virus. The causative agent of the disease is detected in the blood. The method is more informative, but it can be used only in the period of 7-14 days from the moment of illness. But during this period, the rash had not yet appeared, and the patient and the doctor did not suspect the presence of this disease.
This method is more often used to detect infection of the fetus. An antibody test suggests a highthe likelihood that the patient has rubella. Finding the virus in the blood allows you to unambiguously make a diagnosis.
The most reliable analysis for determining the rubella virus is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The laboratory determines the virus gene.
Differential Diagnosis
After passing all the tests, the doctor makes a diagnosis. Rubella symptoms are similar to other diseases, so it is important to rule out:
- measles;
- ORZ;
- infectious mononucleosis;
- scarlet fever;
- pseudotuberculosis;
- exanthema and others
If class M antibodies are not found, and antibodies to class G rubella virus are found, then this disease is excluded and diagnostics are carried out for other diseases.
Transcript of results
An experienced doctor should deal with the interpretation of test results. You can not make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment yourself. To make an accurate diagnosis, the doctor needs a history of the disease, a complete blood count and test results from the laboratory.
With the serological method, if the rubella virus G antibody value is less than 0.4, this indicates a possible infection during the last 3-4 months. With a score of more than 0.6, it can be argued that there was no disease. If the laboratory determined from 0.4 to 0.6, then it is necessary to retake the tests in 2 weeks.
When diagnosed by ELISA, the presence of antibodies is decoded as follows:
- IgM-, IgG- person is he althy, but vaccination is required;
- IgM-, IgG+in the past, the patient had been ill and has strong immunity;
- IgM+, IgG- infection has occurred, is at the initial stage;
- IgM+, IgG+ man fell ill, the disease is in full swing.
When a virus is detected in the blood, the PCR method determines the presence or absence of the virus in the blood. A positive result indicates the presence of the disease, a negative one indicates the absence.
Rubella risk
Rubella is a disease that is usually tolerated without complications in childhood. In adults, it can bring unpleasant consequences. For some populations, the disease can be very dangerous:
- Pregnant women. The virus infects the fetus and leads to severe developmental disorders of the child.
- Patients with concomitant chronic diseases. The virus aggravates the course of the disease.
- People with impaired immunity. In the absence of a fight against the disease and the absence of antibodies to the rubella virus, the disease becomes a cause of serious complications.
Complications of rubella can be as follows:
- arthritis;
- pneumonia;
- angina;
- fetal pathology;
- encephalitis;
- thrombocytopenic purpura;
- serous meningitis.
Fetal pathologies during infection through the placenta occur much more often if the infection occurred in the first trimester. The virus disrupts the process of cell division, which leads to impaired development, changes in blood circulation and possible death of the fetus.
When infected during this period, a womanoffer to terminate the pregnancy. In case of refusal, anti-rubella serum is administered, but it is ineffective and has many side effects.
Treatment of disease
Treatment for positive rubella G antibodies is an outpatient procedure and does not require hospitalization. The doctor prescribes drugs that relieve the symptoms of the disease. This is the elimination of intoxication, lowering body temperature, taking antihistamines.
The disease goes away on its own, after the body produces antibodies. But to alleviate the patient's condition, it is necessary to follow the recommendations:
- Sleep at least 10 hours a day to allow the body to fight infection.
- Drink plenty of warm liquids. High temperatures cause increased sweating, and the body needs extra water to prevent dehydration.
- If your skin is itchy, you can use sunburn products.
- Add foods rich in vitamin C to your diet, which strengthens the immune system and enhances the production of phagocytes.
Vaccination is used to prevent rubella. Children are vaccinated at the age of 1 year. If you live in an epidemic area, you can get vaccinated earlier. Revaccination is carried out at 6 years. For girls, vaccination is essential to prevent future infections during pregnancy.
