Rubella vaccination among schoolgirls and susceptible women in the United Kingdom since 1970 has dramatically reduced the number of cases of congenital rubella syndrome and terminations of pregnancies related to rubella infection.1 In 1988 the combined measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine was introduced for children aged 12-15 months. Reported cases of congenital rubella syndrome declined significantly, with only a few notified cases of infection among immigrants and in infants whose mothers acquired the infection while travelling overseas in early pregnancy. Immune status of pregnant women is determined by routine antenatal screening for rubella IgG antibody, so that susceptible women can receive postpartum vaccination.

We report two infants with congenital rubella syndrome whose mothers had recently arrived from abroad. Both mothers had a rash in early pregnancy in their country of origin, which was not elicited when they booked for antenatal care in the United Kingdom.