Arthralgia and Rubella Immunization

Excerpt

To the editor: In a paper on our 1969 clinical trial of HPV-77:DE-5 live attenuated rubella virus vaccine in adolescent girls and young women (1), we described in detail a 17-year-old vaccinee (subject #281) who developed moderate arthralgia of her knees and hips, moderate-to-severe arthritis of her fingers, and a painful ganglion. We noted that intermittent arthralgia of her knees and hips had persisted for a year after vaccination. We report here an 8-year follow-up.

Subject #281 is now a 25-year-old resident in internal medicine. At 2-to-3-month intervals and in association with the onset of cool, damp weather, she experiences