Rubella virus officially eliminated from the Americas

[Dr. Pezus]

It's official: rubella, a disease that can be deadly for fetuses, has been eliminated from the Americas. The news was announced today by a scientific panel convened by global health authorities, reports The New York Times. The Americas is the first World Health Organization region to eliminate the disease.

[snip]

"Although it has taken some 15 years, the fight against rubella has paid off," Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization, told The New York Times. "Now, with rubella under our belt, we need to roll up our sleeves and finish the job of eliminating measles, as well." Measles cases have been making a comeback in the US recently, largely because of people who refuse to vaccinate their children. A recent outbreak of measles linked to a Disneyland visitor resulted in 130 cases of measles in California alone.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/29/8517687/rubella-eliminated-americas-virus

[Legend]

Nice

[BasilZero]

I have never heard of this before and I live in the US

/shamed.

[the-pi-guy]

I have never heard of this before and I live in the US

/shamed.

Have you heard of MMR vaccine?

[BasilZero]

Have you heard of MMR vaccine?

Yes.

Oh so Rubella is a name for another type of Measles - no wonder lol.

[the-pi-guy]

Yes.

Oh so Rubella is a name for another type of Measles - no wonder lol.

I guess its also called German measles. 
Measles, Mumps, Rubella is the vaccine name

[BasilZero]

I guess its also called German measles. 
Measles, Mumps, Rubella is the vaccine name

Oh I see

Well anyways, glad that science and technology has improved so much to eliminate these diseases.

[DD_Bwest]

hmm i find it interesting that rubella is gone, but the other 2 aren't.   since they are vaccinated in the same shot.   i guess its much more rare then the other 2

[Dr. Pezus]

Yes.

Oh so Rubella is a name for another type of Measles - no wonder lol.

No. Rubella is another virus but the MMR vaccine prevents rubella, measles and mumps.
Rubella can be terrible. I guess it's most famous for causing fetal death and defects. Some ~50 years ago when there was no vaccine for it many women had been infected and thus it caused many problems for newborn children. These days it just doesn't happen in western countries for the most part.

hmm i find it interesting that rubella is gone, but the other 2 aren't.   since they are vaccinated in the same shot.   i guess its much more rare then the other 2

Yes and I don't think its infectivity is as high as the other two's. Especially measles, which is very infective.