CHANGING EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CONGENITAL-RUBELLA SYNDROME IN THE UNITED-STATES

To describe clinical presentation and epidemiology of US infants with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) and to identify missed opportunities for maternal vaccination, data from CRS cases reported to the Nationa l. Congenital Rubella Syndrome Registry (NCRSR) from 1985 through 1996 were analyzed. Missed opportunities for maternal vaccination were def ined as missed postpartum, premarital, and occupational opportunities, that is, times when rubella vaccination is recommended but was not gi ven. From 1985 through 1996, 122 CRS cases were reported to the NCRSR, The most frequent CRS-related defect was congenital heart disease. Of the reported infants with CRS, 44% were Hispanic. Of 121 known missed opportunities for rubella vaccination among 94 mothers of infants wit h indigenous CRS, 98 (81%) were missed postpartum opportunities. CRS c ontinues to occur in the United States. Hispanic infants have an incre ased risk of CRS. Missed opportunities for postpartum rubella vaccinat ion were identified for 52% of indigenous CRS cases.