Rubella vaccine myeloradiculoneuritis

Thirty-six children with a myeloradiculoneuritic syndrome were studied following a mass rubella vaccine program. This reaction was seen with equal frequency in children given the HPV-77DK12, HPV-77DE5, and Cendehill vaccine. The highest incidence of reaction was seen in preschool children and occurred on an average of 6 weeks following the vaccination. This transient disorder differed from the arthritis of rubella in its symptom pattern, incubation period, and age predisposition. Some children had daily recurrences of nocturnal neuritic arm pain; others had morning leg pain associated with a distinctive limp which in some instances was recurrent over a prolonged period of time. The only consistent laboratory abnormality was an abnormal nerve conduction velocity.