| Description: | This Cambodian girl was photographed proudly showing off her marked left pinky finger, indicating that she had been vaccinated against measles and rubella. A Senior Epidemiologist, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC), Susan Chu, Ph.D., captured this picture while monitoring a 2013 mass measles-rubella vaccination campaign in Cambodia.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world and is a leading cause of vaccine-preventable death among children. Rubella infection during pregnancy can cause congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) and is easily preventable by vaccination. Although the two have similar symptoms, they are different, but can be easily prevented with combined vaccines.As a founding member of the Measles & Rubella Initiative (MRI), CDC provides support to partners and countries. The Measles & Rubella Initiative is a global partnership committed to ensuring no child dies from measles or rubella, or is born with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) - the leading vaccine-preventable infectious disease cause of birth defects, which can also be fatal. |
