(Medical Xpress)—Researchers have determined the structure of the rubella virus capsid protein, which is central to the virus's ability to assemble into an infectious particle and to infect humans.

The structure indicates that the rubella virus E1 glycoprotein evolved to become distant from that of the mosquito-borne viruses in the same family, creating its own niche as a strictly human virus.

"Rubella was this lone wolf, this mystery, this virus that never had any relatives," said Tony Goldberg, an epidemiologist at UW, who maintains a research project in Uganda's Kibale National Park.

Rubella is mostly a medical ... “A major difference of concern between ZIKV infections in Brazil in 2015–2016 and rubella virus infections in the U.S. pandemic of 1959–1965 is ...

Rubella Virus Capsid Protein Structure and its Role in Virus Assembly and Infection. Vidya Mangala Prasad a, Steven D. Willows b, Andrei Fokine a, Anthony J. Battisti a, Siyang Sun a, Pavel Plevka a,1 ...

Although a successful vaccine is available to protect against rubella virus infection, the discovery could aid efforts to develop vaccines and antiviral drugs to treat related infections. The protein ...