A Case of Rubella Caused by Rubella Vaccination

Abstract

We present an extremely rare case of rubella that developed after rubella vaccine administration. A 54-year-old man complained of back and neck pain for some days. He presented with generalized rash and arthralgia that had persisted for two days before his visit. His vital signs were normal, and arthralgia had disappeared during an examination, but lymphadenopathy in the left posterior neck and pink papules were observed throughout the body. He had received his first Rubella vaccination 17 days before this visit and had attended a crowded festival. Owing to the rubella epidemic in that prefecture, we performed a rubella antibody test and polymerase chain reaction assay using blood, urine, and pharyngeal swab specimens. Rubella IgG and IgM antibody titers were 3 and 1.48, respectively. The pharyngeal swab yielded positive results for the 1a vaccine strain. Therefore, he was diagnosed with rubella due to rubella vaccination. His symptoms improved eventually. His clinical course was uncomplicated. Symptoms resolved within one week without specific treatment. The vaccine rubella strain is not as highly infectious as wild-type rubella strains. If rubella symptoms appear after vaccination, it must be investigated whether these are vaccine-specific adverse reactions, wild-strain rubella onset, or other eruptive viral infections.