Chapter 3 Laboratory Diagnosis of Rubella and Congenital Rubella

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a range of serological methods for the diagnosis of Rubella and congenital Rubella. Detection of rubella-specific IgM remains the method of choice for the diagnosis of both postnatally and congenitally acquired rubella, but isolation of virus and detection of viral RNA by nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-nPCR) are useful for the diagnosis of congenital rubella in the fetus and newborn infant. Detection of rubella IgM in a serum taken 3–6 days after onset of rash is the method of choice for diagnosis of acute rubella. Although specific IgM may be detected earlier in some patients, this will depend on the assay used. If no specific IgM is detected in a serum taken