On Mar. 21, 2005, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that a major public health milestone was achieved – the rubella virus, a major cause of serious birth defects such as deafness and blindness, also known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), was no longer considered to be a major public health threat in the U.S.

During the 1964-1965 rubella epidemic in the U.S. caused an estimated 12.5 million cases of rubella and 20,000 cases of CRS which led to more than 11,600 babies born deaf, 11,250 fetal deaths, 2,100 neonatal deaths, 3,580 babies born blind and 1,800 babies born with learning disabilities.