The course
The typical course of rubella begins with a slightly reduced general condition in the initial phase and then moves on to the phase of the characteristic rash. At the beginning a strong reddening of the cheeks is visible, which is either called butterfly erythema or slap exanthema. From the head the rash then spreads further to the trunk and extremities.
At first the spots are confluent and nodular-stained. In the course of the rash the middle of the spots blows off a little and the overall picture reminds of a garland or a net. The rash usually persists for 5-8 days and occurs only in every 5th patient.
50% of those affected by the rash complain of itching. There is also the possibility of developing joint problems due to inflammation of the finger, hand, knee or ankle joints. Very rare complications in children are infections of the liver, heart and brain.
However, the majority of children show few symptoms and more pronounced courses of the disease are more common in adults. However, if one of these complications occurs, the healing process can take up to months. In the case of an infection with rubella, only the symptoms can be treated, there is no therapy that works directly against the virus.
The duration
The time to the outbreak of rubella after infection is about 4-14 days. After that, a rash appears, which subsides after about five to eight days. During the time of the rash the disease is already no longer contagious.
Are rubella ringworm infectious?
The symptom complex known as rubella is a highly contagious disease. In this context it should be noted that Ringel rubella is only contagious from person to person. A transmission from animal to human or from human to animal is usually not possible.
In most cases, the responsible viruses are transmitted via the so-called “droplet infection“. This means that a large number of the pathogens can be transmitted already when speaking, coughing or sneezing. It is precisely the fact that the virus can also be passed on while shaking hands or after touching objects of daily use that makes the Ringel rubella virus so enormously infectious.
Furthermore, the responsible parvovirus can also lead to infection via the stool (faecal-oral infection) or various blood products. Ringel rubella during pregnancy can also be contagious for the unborn child if the expectant mother is infected with the parvovirus. Furthermore, it must be noted that rubella is highly infectious in most cases even before the first symptoms appear.
Expressed in numbers, this means that a rubella infection can be contagious up to 18 days before the onset of the disease. In this way, the pathogens can spread unhindered in schools, kindergartens or similar institutions before the first disease appears and possible prophylactic measures can be taken. This fact is also the reason for the rapid spread and the high risk of rubella infection.
After the appearance of the first symptoms, the risk of infection increases many times over, as large quantities of the pathogen are expelled by the organism of the person affected. But especially in the days before the typical skin rash occurs, rubella is considered particularly contagious. During this period, the risk of infection is greatest for the immediate surroundings of the person affected.
As soon as the rubella-specific skin rash develops, the risk of infection decreases very quickly. In many cases, rubella is no longer infectious at all when the first rash appears. Furthermore, it must be noted that not every person develops symptoms after transmission of the pathogen.
Nevertheless, even these people are highly contagious for a few days. The risk of getting infected with the responsible virus is also not the same for everyone. Children between the ages of 5 and 15 are particularly at risk.There is also a high risk of infection for young and old people when they come into contact with an infected person. In addition, people who suffer from an immune deficiency (immunodeficiency) are also particularly at risk.
