Surveillance of congenital rubella and rubella infections in pregnancy in EU/EEA countries, 2012: Current status and future perspective to monitor elimination

The current surveillance systems allow adequate CRS monitoring in EU. Further efforts are needed to improve their quality, including uniform case definitions, collection of information on the origin of infection, and promotion of reporting from laboratories. Follow-up of pregnant women with suspected infection should be strengthened because it is an entry point for CRS, including detection of fetal deaths, stillbirths and abortions. Laboratory capacity for confirming congenital rubella infections and infections in pregnancy is good in EU, however the use of genotyping should be encouraged.