Abstract

Rubella, although a mild, inconse-quential disease in children, presents a serious medical problem in women of child-bearing age, because of the possibility of severe damage to the fetus by transplacental infection. The congenital rubella syndrome[CRS] has emerged as one of the most important preventable med¬ ical conditions in recent years, and the efforts of numerous public health and private practitioners are being devoted to its control by de¬ tection and vaccination of rubella-susceptible children as well as adolescents and adults. The virus diagnostic laboratory plays an invaluable role in the diag¬ nosis, management and prevention of rubella infection, for an accurate diagnosis of this condition cannot be made on clinical grounds alone. While, in principle, the diagnosis of rubella infection by laboratory meth¬ ods does not differ from that of other viral infections, there are im¬ portant differences in practice. Although it has been known for some years that rubella virus can be grown in tissue culture, isolation by this technique is of little value from the viewpoint of the prac¬ tising physician, because results cannot be reported in less than two weeks. The virus diagnostic laboratory, therefore, although will¬ ing to attempt isolation of the virus, for example from throat secretions, blood, urine, aborted material or other tissues, prefers to use sero¬ logical methods of diagnosis. Ap-propriately chosen serological tests Reprint requests to: