Seroprevalence of Rubella virus among pregnant Sudanese women with history of abortion

Mainly, rubella infections during pregnancy are considered as serious infections worldwide. Since Rubella virus not only infects susceptible women early in pregnancy, they can also be transmitted to the fetus, and might induce birth defects. Accordingly, accurate as well as meticulous diagnosis of rubella infection is crucial during pregnancy. A descriptive, retrospective cross sectional hospital based study was conducted during the period from January 2012 till January 2013; in this context, 107 pregnant women attending Khartoum teaching hospital were enrolled. Needless to mention, the entire participants have history of abortion. Moreover, demographic together with clinical data were retrieved from the patient medical file. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for detecting Rubella (IgG and IgM) antibodies using commercial diagnostic kits (DRG Instruments GmbH. Germany). Quantitative analyses for Rubella (IgG and IgM) antibodies were performed; furthermore, the assay result was interpreted as IU/mL. The obtained data were statistically analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SSPS) version 17. Out of a total of 107 participants, 93 were examined for the presence of Rubella IgG and IgM antibodies. Mean age was calculated as 30.3 with standard deviation (SD) ±6.2. Interestingly, rubella IgM was found reactive in 5 participants (5.4%), in contrast, 48 participants (51.6%) were found reactive to Rubella IgG antibodies. The present study found that the age groups of 20-29, and 30-39 have a significant correlation with antibody sero-positive. However, since this study was cross sectional, it is difficult to state whether the occurrence of high antibody titre preceded or followed the abortions. Rubella vaccine and routine screening for rubella should be introduced for pregnant women in this setting. Further research in this area is highly recommended. Key words: Rubella virus, history of abortion, IgM and IgG antibodies.

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