Congenital rubella syndrome
Síndrome de rubéola congénita
- Date
- 1941 · confidence high
- Place
- Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Credited to
- Norman Gregg
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
In 1941 Australian ophthalmologist Norman McAlister Gregg identified that maternal rubella infection during pregnancy causes congenital defects — cardiac, ocular and auditory — in the fetus, the first demonstrated link between a maternal viral infection and birth defects.
What it led to
- Rubella vaccination campaigns
- Prenatal screening for viral infections
- Development of the MMR vaccine
- Epidemiological surveillance of rubella in pregnancy