Seroprevalence of rubella in pregnant women

Background: Rubella is a droplet infection characterized by self-limiting illness. However infection during pregnancy may result in miscarriage, congenital birth defects leading to long term morbidity. The aim of the study was to estimate the seroprevalence of rubella immunity in pregnant women.Methods: Antenatal patients, irrespective of period of gestation, fulfilling the inclusion criteria were tested for rubella IgG antibodies.Results: A total of 258 pregnant women were included in the study. The estimated seroprevalence of immunity against Rubella infection was 70.5% (n=182) whereas 29.5% (n=76) were seronegative and thus susceptible to rubella infection. The distribution of seroprevalence of rubella immunity based on age group and gravidity were also evaluated.Conclusions: The results reveal high level of rubella sero positivity, which indicates continued transmission of rubella infection in the community.

The seroprevalence of rubella virus in children between 0-15 years old in a hospital in Ankara province before expanded immunization program

Aim: In this study, it was aimed to determine the seroprevalence of rubella in children aged 0-15, who was admitted to Ankara Training and Research Hospital Pediatric outpatient clinic for various reasons between December 2001 and July 2002. In this descriptive study, it is thought that knowing the seroprevalence before the national vaccination program will be important for the evaluation of the future data. Material and Method: In this descriptive study; the seroprevalence of rubella in 1170 children aged 0-15 years was investigated. The age, gender, socio-economic level and number of siblings of the 954 cases included in the study were recorded on the prepared forms, and the history of infection was taken from their families. Rubella specific IgG levels from serum samples of the cases were measured by using the RADIM rubella IgG EIA kit with Micro-ELISA technique. Results: The average age of the children included in the study was found to be 76 } 49 months. Considering their gender, 56.9% (n=543) were male and 43.1% (n=411) were female. Considering their socio-economic levels; 550 children were in the low-income group; 393 children were in the middle-income group and 11 children were in the high-income group. When the distributions are evaluated according to the number of siblings; 14% (n=134) of the cases were a single child, 45% (n=426) had one sibling, 28% (n=267) had two siblings, and 13% (n=127) of the cases had ≥ 3 siblings. When evaluated in terms of rubella seroprevalence, 47.2% (n=450) of the cases had negative rubella IgG and 52.8% (n=504) of them had positive rubella IgG. According to the age the seropositivity showed a significant increase with the increasing age and remained constant at around 91% in the 13-15 age range (p <0.05). Conclusion: This study, conducted before the National Immunization Program in 2003, showed that a large part of our population is vulnerable to the risk of rubella infection. Considering that the seroprevalence increases with age in order to prevent rubella infection, which affects women of reproductive age and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) seen in newborns in particular, it is important to vaccinate all children who have completed their 12th month and have entered the 48th month within the scope of the national vaccination program. The data of this study will guide us in evaluating the success of the program in the population, we provide healthcare services in the following years, as it reflects the situation before the Expanded Immunization Program (EIP).

Pregnancy and velvet

The main prevention of rubella infection during pregnancy is to be vaccinated against this disease in preparation for pregnancy. Before you decide to get vaccinated against rubella, you need to have a special laboratory test to detect antibodies to the rubella virus in your blood to check if you are immune to this infection. The fact is that in some cases it is impossible to determine whether you are sick with rubella. Because in many cases, the disease can be latent or with a very limited number of symptoms, in which case, naturally, the body develops specific antibodies against the virus. Doctors believe that in this case, the body's immune response will be strengthened. It is recommended that the velvet vaccine be given at least 3 months before the planned date of pregnancy. Key words: pregnancy, rubella, fetus, infection

The Epidemiology of Rubella in Lesotho before the Introduction of a Rubella Containing Vaccine: A Review of Measles Case-based Surveillance, 2012-2016

Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the burden and epidemiology of rubella infection in Lesotho before the introduction of a rubella-containing vaccine. It was also to assess the performance of the measles case-based surveillance system in Lesotho. Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was done in Lesotho from February to March 2019 based on the 2012 to 2016 data. Methods: There was a review of the measles case-based surveillance data with a total of 1587 suspected cases reported during the study period. Samples were collected from suspected measles cases and tested for measles. Those samples that tested negative for measles were subsequently tested for rubella IgM at the National Reference Laboratory. The serum samples were analysed for rubella IgM using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits SERION and EUROIMMUN. Results: There were 2 measles IgM and 748 rubella IgM positive cases confirmed. The rubella IgM positive cases accounted for 48% of the samples tested for rubella infection. There were also several rubella outbreaks during the study period. The Lesotho surveillance system met the two principal surveillance performance indicators for each year during the period of the study. Conclusion: This study showed that there was high level of rubella sero-positivity with several outbreaks of rubella infections during the study period. Rubella infection was predominantly seen in those aged between 5 and <13 years of age. This justified the introduction of a rubella containing vaccine in Lesotho in 2017. Although the two principal surveillance performance indicators (non-measles febrile rash illness rates and the percentage of districts that reported at least one case of measles with blood specimen per year) were met during the period under review, there were districts that performed poorly. This study revealed the need for strengthening of rubella-containing vaccine component of routine immunization to lower the impact of rubella infection in Lesotho. A detailed district level review to identify and address the causes of poor performance in some districts is recommended. There is also a need to identify the current challenges and evaluate the impact of the recently introduced rubella-containing vaccine on rubella infection in Lesotho.

A case report on congenital rubella syndrome

Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) is a rare illness in infants that result from maternal infection with rubella virus during pregnancy. The case reported is a primigravida at 37.3 weeks of gestation with the complaints of headache, decreased urine output, bilateral pedal edema, puffiness of face and mild hydromnios suggesting pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). The previous data showed that the fetus had bone anomalies. Controversially the mother had rubella immune before 12 weeks of pregnancy but the report of nuchal translucency (NT) scan taken during 12 weeks of pregnancy was normal. On history mother denied any evidence of rubella infection during or recently before pregnancy which shows it was asymptomatic. She was treated for PIH. By lower segment caesarean section (LSCS), she delivered an alive boy baby who was acrocyanotic and had deformity in all long bones and enlarged liver. Placenta was found to be abnormal. The baby was under observation and the investigation confirmed CRS. Baby had bradycardia and was intubated on following days and found baby’s vocal cord shape was abnormal. Baby had seizures and could not tolerate weaning from ventilator. Before further investigations, the baby was discharged against medical advice. Though very rare, CRS was found to have many consequences to the fetus. Hence it is significant to rule out rubella infection for mother during or recently before pregnancy as a part of routine antenatal checkup as many of them are asymptomatic. All women should be insisted about getting vaccination for rubella minimum 28 days before planning for conception and should be abandoned for those who were already pregnant.

PREVALENCE OF RUBELLA IGG ANTIBODIES AMONG PRODUCTIVE-AGE ‎WOMEN IN AL-MAHWEET GOVERNORATE, YEMEN

Background: Rubella is an infectious viral disease that caused by the Rubella virus. The incidence of rubella infection in women during pregnancy leads to complications for fetus development and cause congenital rubella syndrome or fetal death. This study aimed to determine the prevalence rate of rubella among reproductive-age women in Al-Mahweet, Yemen. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among females attending healthcare centers and schools from July 2007 to June 2008. Blood samples were collected individually from 270 females aged 15-35 years and the rubella virus IgG antibody was quantitated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The needed data were collected by using a pretested questionnaire and analyzed by statistical program. Results: Overall, 197(73%) had IgG-positive antibody to rubella and 73(27%) had IgG-negative antibody to rubella. The highest rate of anti-rubella IgG was among females aged 15-25 years and the lowest was among the females aged 31-35 years. Similarly, the higher rate was among females living in urban area compared to females from rural area. The statistically significant difference was found between most educational levels and positive results of anti-rubella IgG. With regard to marital status, the most frequent of rubella antibody was 72.3%, 73.1%, and 75.0%, respectively, recorded among single, married, and divorced females. The non-pregnant women had (73.7%) more incidence to rubella IgG antibody than pregnant (66.7%). 82.2% of IgG- positive women had no history of stillbirth and 65% had a history of stillbirth. Conclusions: Most of the enrolled females had immunity against rubella virus, but still a significant percentage were susceptible to rubella infection. Thus, it is essential to introduce of rubella vaccine to control and prevent the rubella virus circulating among the community. Peer Review History: Received 20 July 2020; Revised 11 August; Accepted 22 August, Available online 15 September 2020 UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. Received file Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 6.0/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 8.0/10 Reviewer(s) detail: Name: Dr. (Mrs) Amaka A. Mgbahurike Affiliation: University of PortHarcourt, Nigeria E-mail: [email protected] Name: Dr. Tamer Elhabibi Affiliation: Egyptian Russian University, Egypt E-mail: [email protected] Name: Rawaa S. Al-Kayali Affiliation: Aleppo university, biochemistry and microbiology department, Syria E-mail: [email protected] Name: Rola jadallah Affiliation: Arab American University, Palestine E-mail: [email protected] Comments of reviewer(s): Similar Articles: THE ASSOCIATION OF EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS ANTIBODIES WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AMONG YEMENI PATIENTS IN SANA’A CITY SEROPREVALENCE OF ANTI-MANNOSE BINDING LECTIN AUTOANTIBODIES IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS IN SANA'A CITY- YEMEN