Seroprevalence of Measles , Rubella , Mumps and Varicella Specific Antibodies in Primary School Children

Abstract

Measles, mumps, rubella and varicella are diseases that are tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO) as common and serious vaccine-preventable diseases. Aim of the Work: To evaluate the immune status and susceptibility against measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella in primary school children and to study the effects of some sociodemographic factors on the seroprevalence. Subjects and methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 180 children. All children included in this study were subjected to thorough history taking and laboratory investigations; to measure serum levels of specific measles, rubella, mumps and varicella immunoglobulins (IgG) Results: (88.9%) of the surveyed children were seropositive to measles, (77.8%) to mumps, (86.7%) to rubella and (38.9%) to varicella. Seropositivity was higher in males than in females for measles (57.7%), mumps (60.7%), rubella (62.2%) and varicella (68.6%) with significant difference for measles. Younger age groups were less seropositive than older age groups for measles (32.5% vs 35%), mumps (34.4 % vs 37.9%), rubella (30.8 % vs 39.7 %) and for varicella (21.4%) vs 48.6%). The highest level of seronegativity was seen with regard to varicella specific antibodies (61.1%). Conclusion and recommendations: There is an urgent need for a planned program with different strategies to prevent and control these diseases .

Seroprevalence of varicella-zoster virus among pregnant women in Fayoum Governorate, Egypt

“…This may be due to the older age group of our participants ranged from 15 to 43 years old who became immune due to previous VZV infection or contact in our overpopulated country. A recent study conducted on Egyptian primary school children has reported VZV seroprevalence to be 38.9% and correlated increasing VZV antibodies with increasing age [21].…”

Seroprevalence of Measles Antibodies and Predictors for Seropositivity among Chinese Children

“…This might be due to the vaccination schedule or changes in maturing immune systems [26]. A study in Pakistan found that the levels of the measles-specific IgG antibody increased from 60.0% to 84.62% in children aged 9 months to 5 years [36].…”

“…In addition, the seroprevalence of the measles antibody in northwest China was lower than in other Chinese regions, such as Jiangsu (97.6%) [ 9 ], Tianjin (97.5%) [ 25 ], and Zhejiang (96.5%) [ 10 ] in southern China. The regional variation in measles seropositivity, both within China and across nations, might be due to differences in the design of early childhood immunization programs in each region [ 26 ] and inherited differences among various populations [ 27 ].…”

“…In our study, the prevalence of antibodies increased with age, which is consistent with previous findings [ 16 , 35 , 36 ]. This might be due to the vaccination schedule or changes in maturing immune systems [ 26 ]. A study in Pakistan found that the levels of the measles-specific IgG antibody increased from 60.0% to 84.62% in children aged 9 months to 5 years [ 36 ].…”

Sero-survey of measles virus antibodies among symptomatic children attending Abuja Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

“…However, our measles IgG value is quite similar to that found in the seroprevalence study of the measles IgG antibody in 1- to 5-year-old children in Zaria, Northwestern Nigeria, which reported a prevalence of 47.80% [ 18 ]. This variation (both local and national) is likely due to differences in individual immune responses, differences in the design of immunisation programs, or both [ 19 ], [ 20 ].…”