Congenital rubella in south India: diagnosis using saliva from infants with cataract

Congenital rubella is a preventable disease which has been largely controlled by immunisation in the developed world.1 Serological surveys in India indicate that up to 45% of women of childbearing age are susceptible to rubella and potentially at risk of infection during pregnancy.2 We tested affected infants to see whether detection of rubella specific IgM from saliva is as reliable as from serum for diagnosing rubella infection and whether rubella is an important cause of congenital cataract in south India. We studied 95 consecutive infants with congenital cataract presenting to the paediatric department of the Aravind Eye Hospital in 1993-4. Thirty six age matched children attending the same clinic over the same period with a diagnosis of watering eyes acted as …