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August 12, 2002
INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Rate of Pregnant Japanese Without Rubella Immunity Triples"
Kyodo News ( home.kyodo.co.jp ) (08/12/02)
A survey by the Japanese Association of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists has found that the rate of pregnant women without
immunity to rubella, which can cause severe birth defects, has
tripled since mandatory vaccination for female junior high school
students was ceased in 1995. The survey included about 8,200
pregnant women last year and found that 16 percent of young women
under the age of 19 who would have been in junior high school
during the time the rubella program was ended were found to not
have the antibody to rubella, compared to just 5 percent of those
over the age of 20. Furthermore, 27 percent of girls under age
17 lacked the antibody, and the researchers are recommending that
girls be vaccinated before they reach childbearing age because
rubella can cause severe birth defects if a woman catches it
during the early stages of pregnancy.
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