The key difference between rubella and rubeola is that rubeola tends to cause more severe symptoms than rubella.
Rubella and rubeola are two viral diseases. Both viruses are RNA viruses. They are respiratory system infections that spread via infected droplets. Both conditions give rise to rashes, which are somewhat alike. Rubella is caused by the rubella virus, which belongs to the Togaviridae family. Rubeola, on the other hand, is caused by the measles virus, which belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Rubella
3. What is Rubeola
4. Similarities – Rubella and Rubeola
5. Rubella vs Rubeola in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Rubella vs Rubeola
What is Rubella?
Rubella is also known as three-day measles and German measles. Rubella virus is the causative organism. It is an RNA virus, and it spreads via infected droplets. It multiplies in the throat. The patient is contagious for about one week after infection. Rubella attacks are often mild. Rubella features a low grade fever, a rash that starts from face and spreads to the limbs and disappears after three days, and enlarged lymph nodes. The skin may peel off slightly after the rash recovers. Children recover quickly, while adults may get severe symptoms. However, if a mother gets infected during the period of organogenesis (first 8 weeks of pregnancy), there may be severe irreversible defects in the fetus. Premature birth, low platelet count, low hemoglobin amount, and brain, heart, and eye defects can occur due to intrauterine rubella infection. This collection of features is known as congenital rubella syndrome.
Figure 01: Rubella Virus
Serum IgM for Rubella is diagnostic. All children get the Rubella vaccine as a part of the routine immunization regimen. Mild Rubella infection needs nothing other than supportive care, but congenital cardiac defects need surgical correction.
What is Rubeola?
Rubeola is also known as English measles, measles, and morbilli. A paramyxovirus called measles virus is the causative organism. It is an RNA virus that is highly contagious. It spreads via droplet inhalation. Immunodeficiency, travel to endemic areas, poor nutrition, and Vitamin A deficiency are known risk factors. Classical features of measles include a four-day fever with cough, conjunctivitis, and coryza. Koplik spots appear inside the mouth, but they are hardly seen even in confirmed cases because they disappear as easily as they appear. Koplik spots are always seen in measles (pathognomonic). The measles rash starts a few days after the fever. It usually starts behind the ears and spreads quickly to the face, trunk, and limbs. It finally covers most of the body. The rash is itchy and starts with a red color but fades to brown before disappearing.
Figure 02: Measles Rash
Measles can get complicated with diarrhea, pneumonia, middle ear infection, encephalitis, ulceration of the cornea, and scarring of the cornea. Diagnosis may be clinical if Koplik spots are evident, but serum IgM for measles is also confirmatory. There is no treatment for measles. Complications may need antiviral drugs and supportive care. Many children receive the measles vaccine as a part of the routine immunization regimen.
What is the Difference Between Rubella and Rubeola?
Rubella is caused by the rubella virus, which belongs to the Togaviridae family. Rubeola, on the other hand, is caused by the measles virus, which belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family. Rubella virus can spread up to one week after infection, while measles spreads for longer than one week. However, the key difference between rubella and rubeola is that rubella causes a mild disease, while rubeola causes severe symptoms. Moreover, rubella causes a three-day fever, while rubeola causes a four-day fever. In addition, complications of rubeola are common, while complications of rubella are rare.
The following table summarizes the difference between rubella and rubeola.
Summary – Rubella vs Rubeola
Rubella is caused by the rubella virus, which belongs to the Togaviridae family, while rubeola is caused by the measles virus, which belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family. The key difference between rubella and rubeola is that rubella causes a mild disease, while rubeola causes severe symptoms.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Morbillivirus measles infection” By CDC/Dr. Erskine Palmer – (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Rubella virus TEM B82-0203 lores” By CDC/Dr. Heinz F. Eichenwald – This media comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Image Library (PHIL) (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
