29
Jan 2016
End to rubella screening in England
Officials from Public Health England have announced that due to the success of the MMR vaccination, pregnant women will no longer be screened for rubella in England, from April 2016, with the rest of the UK also considering the measure.
Rubella, also known as German measles, is usually quite mild, causing a fever and rash. However, it can become very serious if contracted during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, and can lead to brain damage, heart defects, sight and hearing problems.
Pregnant women are currently offered a blood test to check to see whether or not they are immune to the virus.
Public Health England (PHE) said that it was due to the high update of the MMR vaccination, which allowed them to make the decision.
Director of screening programmes at PHE, Dr Anne Mackie, said “The decision to end rubella susceptibility screening in pregnancy in England is based on a rigorous assessment of the evidence and expert clinical advice.
“Screening for rubella in pregnancy does not give any protection to the unborn baby in that pregnancy.
“The best preventative measure a woman can take to protect herself from rubella is to ensure she is immunised with the MMR vaccine before she gets pregnant.”
Sense, a charity set up by parents affected by rubella, has welcomed the news, with Joff McGill from the charity saying “It is a cause for celebration that in the UK there is no endemic rubella and congenital rubella syndrome births are now rare thanks to the childhood immunisation programme and high levels of MMR update.
“Stopping rubella screening in pregnancy will not lead to an increase in cases of congenital rubella syndrome.
“The only way that will happen is if there are significant rubella outbreaks, and we can ensure that doesn’t happen by continued high levels of update of MMR.”
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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), Medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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