Health officials: German measles eradicated from the Americas

German measles is gone from North and South America, health officials said Wednesday, making it the third infectious disease to be eliminated from the Americas, after smallpox and polio.

The World Health Organization says that it has been more than five years since a case of German measles, also known as rubella, originated in either North or South America, and any cases in the region are imported from elsewhere. "This is a historic achievement for the Americas," Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization, told NBC News.

German measles is a viral disease that is spread by coughing and sneezing and normally is mild, with a rash and low fever, but it can cause birth defects when a pregnant woman becomes infected. The rubella vaccine was first licensed in 1969, and the disease was eliminated in the United States by 2004.

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