Rubella in Poland in 2015.

Background: In 2004, Poland has adopted the WHO goal of rubella elimination and congenital rubella syndrome prevention. The main target of the Programme is to stop transmission of the virus in the environment and prevention of congenital rubella cases between children. This can be achieved by carrying out the vaccination. Participation in the rubella elimination program requires clinical diagnosis of rubella to be confirmed with laboratory test. A laboratory-confirmed case is a suspected case with a positive blood test for rubella-specific IgM or/ and isolation of rubella virus. Isolation of rubella viruses and genotyping is an important components for confirming connections between cases or excluding cases during investigations. Vaccination against rubella was introduced in 1987, initially only in 13 year-old girls. Among men, the incidence of measles remained high creating a risk of infection of non-immune pregnant women which may lead to the development of congenital rubella syndrome in the child. Since 2003, single jab vaccination against rubella, measles and mumps is used- MMR vaccine for all children: primary vaccination at the age 13-15 months.

Aim: To assess epidemiological situation of rubella in Poland in 2015, including vaccination coverage in polish population.

Methods: The descriptive analysis was based on data retrieved from routine mandatory surveillance system and published in the annual bulletins “Infectious diseases and poisonings in Poland in 2015” and “Vaccinations in Poland in 2015”.

Results: In 2015, there was a decrease in the number of rubella cases - with registered 2 027 cases (in 2014 - 5 891 cases) - and a decline in incidence (from 15.3 per 100 000 to 5.3). The highest incidence rate, regardless of gender and the environment, was observed among children aged 0-4 years (46.7 per 100,000). The incidence of rubella in boys and men was similar to the incidence in girls and women (5.5 versus 5.0). In 2015, no cases of congenital rubella syndrome were registered.

Summary And Conclusions: In 2015, there was a decrease in the number of rubella cases. In Poland Rubella is reported exclusively on the basis of the clinical picture. The proportion of laboratory tests confirming/ excluding rubella infection is still very low in Poland. In 2015, only 1.1% of rubella cases were laboratory confirmed.