Patient education: Measles, mumps, and rubella blood tests (The Basics)

What is a measles, mumps, and rubella blood test? — 

This is a blood test to check for different "antibodies" against measles, mumps, or rubella. Antibodies are proteins your body makes when you have an infection. The body also makes antibodies when you get a vaccine.

Measles, mumps, and rubella are infections caused by viruses:

●Measles – This can cause a rash, fever, and cough. It is very contagious.

●Mumps – This causes swelling of the glands in front of the ears and above the jaw.

●Rubella – This causes a rash on the face and body.

These infections are not common. That's because many people get a vaccine to prevent them, called the "MMR" vaccine.

A blood test can check for antibodies to 1 or more of these viruses.

Why might I get a measles, mumps, and rubella blood test? — 

Your doctor might order this test:

●To find out if you are immune to any or all of the infections – This means you have antibodies in your blood showing you had at least 1 of the infections or got the MMR vaccine. This information can help your doctor decide if you should now get an MMR vaccine.

Knowing if you are immune is important if you:

•Plan to get pregnant

•Work in health care, and could be exposed to these infections

•Are starting a new job, and need to show you are immune

●If you have symptoms of measles, mumps, or rubella

●To find out if a newborn baby has rubella – If a person gets rubella during pregnancy, it can cause serious problems for the baby. Testing the baby after birth can show if they have the infection, so they can get the proper care.

How do I prepare for a measles, mumps, and rubella blood test? — 

You need to get a "blood draw." Your doctor or nurse will tell you where to go for this.

It might help to wear a short-sleeve shirt to your blood draw appointment. This makes it easier for the person drawing your blood to get to your arm.

What happens during a blood draw? — 

A needle is used to take a small amount of blood from your arm (figure 1). Collecting the blood only takes a few minutes. The blood is then tested in a lab.

Tell the person who takes your blood:

●If you take "blood thinner" medicines or have a bleeding problem – They will make sure your bleeding is under control before you leave.

●If you have a latex allergy – Some of the supplies used for blood draws might contain latex.

●If you have a preferred arm to use

Most of the time, getting blood taken does not cause problems. You might have a little soreness or bruising where the needle went in.

What do my results mean? — 

Your doctor or nurse will tell you when to expect your results, and will contact you with the results. Or if you use an online "patient portal," you might get an alert there when your results are ready.

The results of the test can be:

●Positive – This means the test did find antibodies to measles, mumps, or rubella. Having antibodies means you either have an infection or had it in the past. Or it might mean you had the MMR vaccine. It is possible to have antibodies to 1 or 2 of these viruses but not the others.

●Negative – This means the test did not find antibodies to measles, mumps, or rubella. This usually means you have never been exposed to these viruses nor had the MMR vaccine. But the test for any of the 3 viruses can also be negative if:

•You had the vaccine a long time ago, and the antibodies can no longer be measured with the test (you might still be protected in this case).

•You were exposed to these viruses, but your immune system is too weak to make antibodies.

•You had the vaccine in the past, but it did not work (this is not common).

Check with your doctor or nurse to find out if you should get a "booster" dose of the MMR vaccine. This will give you protection against all 3 viruses.

Your doctor might want to repeat the test to confirm the results.

If you do have measles, mumps, or rubella, your doctor will work with you to come up with a treatment plan. If you need to get a vaccine for protection, they will talk to you about when to get this and how many doses.

More on this topic

Patient education: Measles (The Basics)
Patient education: Mumps (The Basics)
Patient education: Rubella (The Basics)
Patient education: Measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (The Basics)