1. An acute but mild exanthematous disease caused by rubella virus (Rubivirus family Togaviridae), with enlargement of lymph nodes, but usually with little fever or constitutional reaction; a high incidence of birth defects in children results from maternal infection during the first trimester of fetal life (congenital rubella syndrome).
Syn: epidemic roseola, German measles, roteln, roetheln, third disease, three-day measles
[L. rubellus, fem. -a, reddish, dim. of ruber, red]
