Illustration used in public service campaigns to encourage parents to vaccinate their children against Rubella in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Rubella, German measles, is a childhood illness that can pose a serious threat to a fetus, if the mother contracts the illness during pregnancy. More than 20,000 babies were born with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) during an outbreak of rubella in 1964-65. This epidemic cost the country an estimated $1.5 billion. The rubella vaccine was first licensed in the U.S. in 1969. Rubella is characterized by a rash, swollen glands and, especially in adults, joint pain. The rash lasts about 3 days and may be accompanied by a low fever. Other symptoms such as headache, loss of appetite and sore throat are more common in infected adults and teenagers than in children. Rubella is caused by a different virus from the one that causes regular measles (rubeola). Immunity to rubella does not protect a person from measles, or vice versa.