PROLONGED ARTHRITIS IN IDENTICAL-TWINS AFTER RUBELLA IMMUNIZATION

The development of transient or recurrent arthritis has been reported after either wild-type rubella infection or immunization with the HPV-77 DK/12 or, more rarely, the HPV-77 DE/5 strain of rubella vaccine (1-3). We describe the development of prolonged arthritis in identical female twins after HPV-77 DE/5 rubella immunization and report on virologic and immunologic studies carried out prospectively on one of the twins. The results support the hypothesis that abnormalities in the regulation of immunologic response to rubella virus play an important role in the development of rubella-associated arthritis.