Rubella, commonly known as German measles, is a disease caused by the rubella virus. It is usually a benign disease of children which causes skin eruption and lymphadenopathy. It breaks out sporadically with major epidemics once every few years. Symptoms start with macropapular rash appearing on the face and spreading over the trunk and extremities 16-20 days after exposure. Low-grade fever, sore throat and general malaise are also common symptoms of the infection. Rubella virus during pregnancy can be serious; if the mother is infected within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, the child may be born with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), which entails a range of serious incurable illnesses. The syndrome (CRS) follows intrauterine infection by rubella virus and comprises cardiac, cerebral, ophthalmic and auditory defects. It may also cause prematurity, low birth weight, and neonatal thrombocytopenia, anaemia and hepatitis. DETECTION of rubella-specific IgG usually forms the basis of antenatal surveillance of rubella immunity.