Efforts at Rubella Elimination in the United States: The Impact of Hemispheric Rubella Control

Abstract

We examined rubella vaccination trends, rubella surveillance, and disease patterns for the Americas, Mexico, and the United States, to evaluate the impact of hemispheric rubella control on rubella elimination in the United States during 1997-2004. In 1997, 130,375 rubella cases were reported in the Americas, with 38,042 reported in Mexico. Over the next 7 years, a rubella control initiative resulted in the administration of approximately 110 million rubella-containing vaccine doses in Latin America, with 77.7 million doses administered within Mexico. By 2004, the number of reported rubella cases had declined to 3103 in the Americas and 698 in Mexico. Concurrently, the number of rubella cases in the United States fell from 817 during 1997-1999 to <25 cases/year from 2001 onward, with loss of seasonality and geographic clustering, despite no change in vaccination rates. Implementation of rubella control strategies in the Americas, particularly in Mexico, appears to have facilitated rubella elimination in the United States.