Temporary Fertility Decline after Large Rubella Outbreak, Japan.

ABSTRACT: Japan experienced 2 large rubella epidemics in 2004 and 2012-2014. Because of suboptimal immunization levels, the country has been experiencing a third major outbreak during 2018-2020. We conducted time series analyses to evaluate the effect of the 2012-2014 nationwide rubella epidemic on prefecture-level natality in Japan. We identified a statistically significant decline in fertility rates associated with rubella epidemic activity and increased Google searches for the term "rubella." We noted that the timing of fertility declines in 2014 occurred 9-13 months after peak rubella incidence months in 2013 in 4 prefectures with the highest rubella incidence. Public health interventions should focus on enhancing vaccination campaigns against rubella, not only to protect pregnant women from inf

SUBMITTER: Mizumoto K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7258466 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature