Sero Prevalence of Rubella Immunity in Pregnant Women in Kerala, India

Abstract

Introduction:The endemicity of rubella has been well established in India and immunity to rubella in pregnant women can indirectly hint at the risk of acquiring Congenital Rubella Syndrome CRS. In India Rubella vaccine has not been introduced in universal immunization program (UIP) at national level and has been used in only in private sectors which cover only a small proportion of population. In the state no community based studies were conducted among pregnant women to study the immunity against rubella which will reflect their vulnerability to future infection. Aims: The present study was carried out primarily to assess the IgG seroprevalence of rubella in pregnant women. Second, to identify potential predictors of rubella immunity like age, gravidity and previous abortions. Material methods: The study was conducted in Mavoor panchayath area of Kozhikode district, Kerala. The subjects were pregnant women (n=70) of any period of gestation who were permanent residents of the area were selected by systematic random sampling from antenatal register. The data collection, blood sample collection and estimation of Rubella specific I G antibody was done by enzyme linked immunesorbent assay (ELIZA) method. Results: The mean age was 24.7 ± (SD4.3) years. The mean titre value was 192.45 ± 102.58 IU and 94.3% (95%CI 86.2 -97.8) were Ig G positive .There was no difference between IgG levels among different trimesters, age or gravidity. Among those with history of abortion 100% and those without history of abortion 96.4% were Ig G positive. Conclusion: This study indicates that rubella is still an endemic condition in India, majority of pregnant women have acquired immunity towards rubella. More detailed epidemiological studies by taking samples from different states may be needed for a basis of national immunization program.

Seroprevalence of Rubella IgG in Women of Reproductive Age Group in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

“…Most published studies focus on small heterogeneous groups of target groups. 9,11 After the introduction of the MMR vaccine, the disease moved from children to young adults.…”

“…10 The prevalence of rubella IgG in our study was relatively lower than that seen in Kerala and other Indian states. [11][12][13][14] There is considerable variation in the susceptibility to rubella in antenatal cases in different geographical regions in India (Table 4). Most of the studies mentioned here were done before the availability of rubella vaccines in children in India.…”

Seroprevalence of rubella in pregnant women

“…It is pertinent to note that earlier serosurveys conducted in India has put in a range of 2% to 38%, which is a very wide range. [8][9][10][11][12] Rubella infection predominantly affects childhood age groups but given the large population of India, even a susceptibility of 30% amongst the young pregnant population can lead to a high load of CRS cases. This is because in the presence of ongoing transmission in community, the susceptible pregnant patient is likely to be inflicted by rubella infection thereby leading toits sequelae.…”

“…However a few studies have been done, mainly in northern India, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20214651 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2 Department of Microbiology, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India assessing rubella immunity. [8][9][10][11] The aim of this study was to assess the sero-prevalence of rubella immunity in Pune, in western Maharashtra.…”

Seroprevalence of Rubella IgG in Pregnant Females

“…The mean age of the subjects (n=70) was 24.7±4.3 years and data collection was done by ELISA. 12 However, a cross sectional study carried out between 2012-2014 in the district of Bijapur, showed only 31.66% being seropositive. 13 Total 88.2% of the females, in a study population of 339, in Egypt were positive for Rubella antibodies.…”