Rubella is a contagious viral infection that causes a red, spotty rash and mild fever. Also called German measles, rubella usually feels like a mild cold with a rash that spreads from the face down across the body. Most people who catch rubella recover completely within a week, and many children barely feel sick at all.

Before vaccines existed, rubella spread easily through schools and communities, especially in spring. Children would catch it, get their spots, stay home for a few days, and recover with lifelong immunity.

Today, many children receive a rubella vaccine (usually combined with measles and mumps vaccines) around age one. This vaccine has made rubella rare in some countries. Doctors care a lot about preventing rubella because it can cause serious problems for unborn babies if a pregnant woman catches it. The vaccine protects both the person receiving it and, eventually, future generations. Thanks to widespread vaccination in some places, rubella has been eliminated from parts of the world, showing how public health efforts can greatly reduce a disease that once infected millions of people.