BPSU surveillance - Congenital rubella

Surveillance of congenital rubella in the UK up to the age of 16 years is carried out by the Integrated Screening Outcomes Surveillance Service (ISOSS) on behalf of the NHS Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Screening Programme.

Congenital rubella is a notifiable disease. However, to support the surveillance of this condition, the ISOSS team commissions the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit (BPSU) to collect notifications from clinicians throughout England. Monitoring of these cases enables ISOSS to identify whether maternal infections were acquired abroad or at home, and to maintain awareness of this condition.

ISOSS team

Helen Peters (ISOSS surveillance manager) & Kate Francis (ISOSS surveillance coordinator)
Population, Policy and Practice
UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
30 Guilford Street
London WC1N 1EH
Email: helen.peters2@nhs.net / kate.francis3@nhs.net

Website: Integrated Screening Outcomes Surveillance Service at UCL

About the collaboration

Overview

Surveillance aims to monitor the effectiveness of the rubella immunisation programme by determining the incidence of congenital rubella and investigating the circumstances surrounding any new cases.

Since cessation of rubella susceptibility screening in pregnancy in 2016 there have been no cases of congenital rubella reported where the mother acquired rubella in the UK.

You can download the protocol card below.

Case definition

Any infant (live or still born) or child up to 16 years of age born in England (regardless of where maternal infection was acquired) or abroad who has suspected or confirmed congenital rubella.

Reporting instructions

Please report any infant or child seen by you for the first time in the past month who meets the case definition, regardless of country of birth.

Duration

The surveillance started in January 1990 and is ongoing.

Funding

The Integrated Screening Outcomes Surveillance Service (ISOSS) is funded by the NHS Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Screening Programme.

Approval

Patient data is collected by ISOSS under legal permissions granted under Regulation 3 of The Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 to collect this data without patient consent.

ISOSS also conforms to the requirements of the Data Protection Act (2018).

Further information