Neuritis and Arthritis Following Rubella Immunization

To the Editor.— In a letter toThe Journal(213:2272, 1970) Speier commented on seeing apparent neuritis, not arthritis, in children immunized with rubella vaccine. As he points out, arthritis is now widely recognized as a complication, but what about neuritis? A review of the literature reveals that peripheral neuritis has been reported with and followingnaturalrubella, especially in Great Britain, as far back as 1940.¹,²We recently had the opportunity of documenting the extent of post-rubella-vaccine reactions after a large immunization campaign³and we too were struck by the extent (7.2%) of arthritis or the sensory effects of a peripheral neuritis (paresthesia) or both. Of 23 children examined because of reported reactions, 18 hadnoobjective findings whatsoever. Paresthesia was a prominent complaint however, and frequently the chief complaint. Paresthesia and its peculiar diurnal pattern were similarly noted by Cooper et al⁴in one