Rubella: What is it and how CDC global experts are working to eliminate it
Title: Rubella: What is it and how CDC global experts are working to eliminate it
On-screen graphic: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Logo, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On-screen visual description: Photographs of women with babies.
Dr. Reef speaks:
Rubella is very contagious. If a woman who’s pregnant gets infected during her first trimester or even the first 16 weeks, she may have a baby that’s blind, deaf and has heart problems. It’s one of the leading causes of vaccine preventable birth defects.
On-screen text: A woman infected with rubella in early pregnancy can suffer miscarriage or give birth to a baby with Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS)
On-screen text: Susan Reef, MD, Rubella Team Lead, Global Immunization division, CDC
Dr. Reef speaks:
When I first started with rubella in 1994, it was on the back-burner, and through a lot of hard work and working with dedicated people, we’ve been able to bring it forward.
On-screen visual description: Scenes of Dr. Reef talking with colleagues.
Dr. Reef speaks:
At CDC, we provide technical assistance and finding how big of a problem it is in countries that have not introduced the vaccine, looking at their surveillance systems to see how well vaccine introduction has gone, and we help them document the elimination of rubella.
On-screen visual description: Rubella on sign.
On-screen visual description: Woman looking at paperwork.
On-screen text: Today, 173 countries provide rubella vaccine administering protection to infants in 71% of the world.
On-screen visual description: Photographs of women with babies.
Dr. Reef speaks:
I do this because I love it. Because I feel like I’m making an impact into people’s lives.
On-screen text: CDC.gov/globalhealth/measles
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