Congenital Rubella Syndrome — Research Summary
Printed from RareWays (rareways.com.au) on 24 September 2026
For general awareness only. Not medical advice. Discuss all care options with your healthcare team.
5 Most Recent Research Articles
- 1.
Trends of congenital rubella syndrome among infants (0-11 months old) in India: a multicentre hospital-based sentinel surveillance (2016-2025).
Shanmugasundaram Devika et al. — The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia (1 October 2026)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42707121/
- 2.
Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrome in the GCC Countries: A Retrospective Ecological Analysis of Elimination Progress and Scenario-Based Projections, 2020–2024
Salah T. Al Awaidy et al. — Journal of Virus Eradication (1 September 2026)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jve.2026.100636
- 3.
Hospital-based surveillance suggested a high frequency of congenital rubella syndrome and the presence of genetically diverse genotype 2B rubella virus strains in Ethiopia.
Abebe Meseret et al. — International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases (1 September 2026)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42242620/
- 4.
Progressive Iris Hypoplasia in Congenital Rubella Syndrome.
Panigrahi Arnav et al. — Ophthalmology (1 September 2026)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42274430/
- 5.
Progress Toward Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrome Elimination - Worldwide, 2012-2024.
Dahlke Melissa et al. — MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report (23 July 2026)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42490629/
Source: RareWays research directory. Data from PubMed, Europe PMC, OpenAlex, ClinicalTrials.gov.
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Congenital Rubella Syndrome
Congenital rubella syndrome occurs when a baby is infected with the rubella virus before birth, usually in early pregnancy. It can affect hearing, vision, the heart and brain development, and problems such as diabetes may appear later in childhood. Care involves hearing and eye specialists, heart review and developmental support. Rubella vaccination before pregnancy prevents it.
Most Recent Research
BACKGROUND: India aims to eliminate measles and rubella by 2026. In this study we analysed surveillance data from 2016 to 2025 from a facility-based surveillance of 16 sentinel sites across India to understand the burden and trend of congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). METHODS: CRS surveillance included eligible infants between 0 and 11 months of age with suspected CRS, defined as the presence of congenital heart defects, hearing impairment, ocular abnormalities or maternal history of rash during pregnancy. All enrolled infants underwent comprehensive clinical evaluation, including cardiac, ophthalmologic, and hearing assessments. Serum samples were tested for rubella-specific IgM and IgG antibodies. The final analysis summarised clinical characteristics and trend of laboratory-confirmed CRS infants. FINDINGS: Between November 2016 and May 2025, 8953 infants with suspected CRS were enrolled across 16 sentinel sites, among them 583 (6.5%) patients were classified as having laboratory-confirmed CRS. The proportion of laboratory-confirmed patients declined from 24.9% in 2017 to 2.5% in 2025. Among laboratory-confirmed CRS patients, 81.3% had structural heart defects, 26.8% had hearing impairment, and 24.2% had any of the group A ocular sign (cataract, glaucoma or pigmentary retinopathy). Of the 583 infants with laboratory-confirmed CRS, 541 were tested for rubella virus by RT-PCR, of whom 56 (10.4%) were positive, with no positive detections after 2021. Follow-up information was available for 452 laboratory-confirmed CRS patients, of whom 126 died, with a cumulative probability of death by one year of 32.2% (95% CI 26.7-38.4). INTERPRETATION: The observed decline in the proportion of laboratory-confirmed CRS among suspected CRS infants in this facility-based surveillance is consistent with declining rubella virus transmission in India, although changes in surveillance sensitivity over time could not be excluded. Sustained high-quality surveillance is essential to monitor progress towards CRS elimination in the country. FUNDING: CRS surveillance was funded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of India, through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Grant number: 00101970).
Common Questions
What is Congenital Rubella Syndrome?
Congenital rubella syndrome occurs when a baby is infected with the rubella virus before birth, usually in early pregnancy. It can affect hearing, vision, the heart and brain development, and problems such as diabetes may appear later in childhood. Care involves hearing and eye specialists, heart review and developmental support. Rubella vaccination before pregnancy prevents it.
How many clinical trials are available for Congenital Rubella Syndrome?
RareWays currently indexes 1 clinical trial for Congenital Rubella Syndrome. Trial availability changes as new studies are registered — check the trials tab for current status.
Where does the research data for Congenital Rubella Syndrome come from?
RareWays aggregates research from PubMed, Europe PMC, OpenAlex, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Data is updated regularly by Rocky, RareWays' automated research engine. All articles and trials link directly to their original sources.
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This information is for general awareness only.
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