Austin Public Health is investigating a confirmed rubella case, the first of the contagious viral infection in Travis County since 1999, according to a Jan. 16 news release from the health agency.
The investigation comes just weeks after the health agency investigated the county’s first measles case in decades. Both rubella and measles are diseases preventable by vaccines, according to Austin Public Health, and are covered by the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine.Rubella symptoms include a red rash, headache, mild pink eye, swollen lymph nodes, cough or runny nose, according to Austin Public Health. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has photos and more information on rubella symptoms for concerned residents.
The MMR vaccine is required by the Texas Department of State Health Services for students in K-12th grade, though exemptions are granted on an individual basis for "medical contraindications, active duty with the armed forces of the United States, and reasons of conscience, including a religious belief," according to the agency's website. Two doses are required, with the first dose received on or after a child's first birthday. As previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper, the conscientious exemption rate for vaccinations at Austin ISD is consistently above the statewide conscientious exemption rate each year.
