Epidemiology of hospitalisations caused by rubella in the general population in Spain (1997-2006)

Abstract

Background. Rubella is benign in children, but in pregnant women it can produce Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) with severe consequences for the foetus. In spite of vaccination coverage in Spain being above 95%, isolated cases and outbreaks continue to occur. The aim of this study is to estimate the incidence of hospitalisations due to rubella in Spain (1997-2006). Methods. Utilising the basic minimum dataset (National System of Epidemiological Surveillance) we calculated: rate of hospitalisation, average stay and cost. Results. There were 267 hospitalisations, amongst them 144 due to rubella during pregnancy, 1 due to CRS and 8 due to encephalomyelitis. The overall rate of hospitalisation was 0.065 per 105 inhabitants (IC95%=0.0649-0.0654). The average stay was 3 days. The average cost of a hospitalisation was 2,082 €, and if complicated by encephalomyelitis it rose to 8.191 €. Conclusion. There continue to be hospitalisations due to rubella, basically due to problems in gestation and to complications in the existing susceptible population group.