This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
PHE announces end to rubella screen tests
Public Health England (PHE) has announced it will no longer supply rubella screening tests for pregnant women in England, claiming the infection is now rare and that screening was causing unnecessary stress.
Rubella is a viral infection which, if suffered during pregnancy can lead to brain damage and other health problems for unborn babies.
Regulations initially meant that pregnant women were offered a blood test to determine whether they are immune to the virus. In 2012 the UK’s National Screening Committee recommended that the tests should be halted because incidence of infection was so low that the World Health Organisation no longer considered it a threat.
Rubella screening tests are now due to stop in England in April, whilst the rest of the UK also considers the move.
Dr Anne Mackie, the director of screening programmes at PHE, said: "The decision to end rubella susceptibility screening in pregnancy in England is based on a rigorous assessment of the evidence and expert clinical advice.
"Screening for rubella in pregnancy does not give any protection to the unborn baby in that pregnancy.
"The best preventative measure a woman can take to protect herself from rubella is to ensure she is immunised with the MMR vaccine before she gets pregnant."
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