If you attended the auto show in Detroit last month, you will want to read this.
The Michigan Department of Health (MDH) is alerting the public about possible exposure to rubella, which is also known as the German measles. Michigan health officials said they were notified by another state that one of their residents who attended the North American International Auto Show January 13-15 has been diagnosed with rubella. MDH said this individual may have been contagious while in Detroit.
Rubella is a viral illness and its symptoms can include a low-grade fever, sore throat and a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. It is an airborne virus and is spread through coughing and sneezing. Symptoms can begin between 12 and 23 days.
The health department added that people infected with rubella are most contagious when the rash is erupting, but they can be contagious from seven days before to seven days after the rash appears. They said rubella can cause a miscarriage or serious birth defects in a developing baby if a woman is unvaccinated and is infected while she is pregnant. Officials said rubella can be prevented with a rubella-containing vaccine. MDH urges those who may have been exposed and are unsure of their vaccination status to contact their healthcare provider.
The last time a case of rubella was reported in Michigan was 2007.
More information about rubella is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.Cdc.gov/rubella.