On February 26, 2016, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) announced an imported case of rubella in a 40-year-old male who resides in southern Taiwan. The case returned to Taiwan from China on January 30. He developed fever, sore throat and rash on February 6 and sought medical attention on February 9. Infection with rubella was confirmed in the case on February 23.  As of now, the case has recovered and been removed from isolation. During the exposure period, he was doing business in China and he has an unknown history of rubella vaccination. As a result, it was determined that he is an imported case. Taiwan CDC reminds the public to pay attention to their own health and take precautions when visiting areas with active transmission of rubella. If symptoms develop, please seek prompt medical assistance.

During the infectious period, the case visited a driving range alone and came into contact only with the staff working at the driving range, but no other customers. To prevent further transmission of the disease, the health authorities has implemented a number of prevention measures and identified 107 contacts, including his family members, the driving range staff, healthcare personnel and patients that he came into contact with when he sought medical attention, to monitor and follow up until March 7. One of the contacts is a pregnant woman who was found to have rubella antibodies during her prenatal examination. Currently, none of the contacts has developed any suspected symptoms.

Thus far this year, a total of 2 rubella cases, which were all imported (one from China and one from Hong Kong), were confirmed. As 95% of the citizens in Taiwan have had the infection or been vaccinated against the disease and most infected individuals experience mild symptoms, the public does not need to panic over the case. However, if a pregnant woman who has no rubella antibodies becomes infected with rubella during early pregnancy, there is a chance she will pass the infection to her unborn child and a chance that the child will develop congenital rubella syndrome, resulting in fetal death, miscarriage or birth defects such as deafness, glaucoma, cataract, microcephaly, intellectual disability, heart disease and even death. Women of child-bearing age who are tested negative for rubella antibody during the pre-marital medical examination can receive a free dose of MMR vaccine when presenting the negative rubella antibody result at the local health station or a contracted hospital.

Taiwan CDC advises travelers determine the need for rubella vaccination 2 to 4 weeks prior to their trip. In addition, Taiwan CDC reminds travelers visiting affected areas to heighten vigilance, pay attention to personal hygiene, wash hands frequently, avoid touching mouth and nose, and wearing a mask while visiting crowded places. If symptoms pertaining to rubella infection such as fever, fatigue, nasopharyngitis and obviously swollen lymph nodes behind the ears develop and are accompanied by generalized irregular papules, joint pain or arthritis, please put on a mask, seek immediate medical attention, and voluntarily inform the physician of relevant travel and exposure history. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).