rubella virus vaccine live

The rubella virus vaccine live is a live attenuated viral vaccine developed by Merck to provide active immunity against rubella (German measles). It utilizes the Wistar RA 27/3 strain of the virus, which is grown in human diploid cell (WI-38) cultures. The vaccine works by inducing a mild, subclinical infection that stimulates the host's immune system to produce neutralizing antibodies against the Rubella virus E1 and E2 envelope glycoproteins and the capsid protein. Its primary clinical objective is the prevention of Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS), which causes severe birth defects or fetal death if a woman is infected during pregnancy. While Merck's monovalent vaccine, Meruvax II, was first licensed in the United States in 1969, it has been largely superseded by combination vaccines such as M-M-R II (measles, mumps, and rubella) and ProQuad (measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella). The monovalent form is currently discontinued in the United States but the rubella component remains a core part of standard immunization schedules globally.

Brand names

Meruvax IIMeruvax

Other names

Wistar RA 27/3 strain vaccinerubella vaccinerubella virus vaccine live (RA 27/3 strain)