Rubella Immunity among Italian Female Healthcare Workers: A Serological Study

Abstract

Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infectious disease caused by virus of the genus Rubivirus, which may be prevented by vaccination. The infection is potentially dangerous for non immune subjects, although 20–50% of infected subjects are asymptomatic. Healthcare workers (HCWs) have an increased potential exposure to rubella in comparison to the general population, putting them and their patients at risk of infection and its complications. In 2019, 20 cases of rubella have been reported in Italy. According to the Italian National Immunization and Prevention Plan, HCWs should provide a written certification of vaccination for rubella or serological evidence of protective antibodies. The aim of the study was to evaluate the rubella immunization status in female HCWs of the teaching hospital Policlinic Rome Tor Vergata (PTV) of childbearing age. For this purpose, we retrospectively checked the serologic values of rubella-specific IgG antibodies analyzing the clinical records of the HCWs of undergoing the occupational health surveillance program from January 1st to June1st 2020. Five hundred fourteen HCWs with a mean age of 23.19 (range 19–37, DS: 2.80) were included: 90.3% (464) showed a protective antibody titre. The mean value of the anti-rubella IgG was 49.59 IU/mL. Our study shows a non-protective anti rubella IgG titre in a substantial percentage of HCWs (9.7%). As vaccine protection decreases over the years and the risk of congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in vaccinated subjects should not be underestimated, we suggest routine screening of the immunological status followed by the administration of a third dose of vaccine if the antibody titre becomes non-protective.

Prevalence and management of rubella susceptibility in healthcare workers in Italy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…According to the aforementioned inclusion criteria, three articles were identified in Google Scholar, four in Scopus and eight in MEDLINE/PubMed. After exclusion of duplicate articles in the two databases, there were nine eligible studies [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] ( Table 1 ), of which eight were quantitative [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] and one was qualitative [18] . The remaining 88 studies did not match the inclusion criteria [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] , [47] , [48] , [49] , [50] , [51] , [52] , [53] , [54] , [55] , [56] , [57] , [58] , [59] , [60] , [61] ,…”

Health and Economic Impact of Atrial Fibrillation of Workers in Italy: Social Security Benefits

“…The fact that the Italian social security system is able to provide financial support for these types of workers is a considerable social victory that benefits the population, the value of which should neither be dismissed nor underestimated. For this reason, constant monitoring of social security payment data is essential, particularly for epidemiological and preventative purposes [10,11].…”

Night Shift Work Is Associated with Reduced Rate of Humoral Response Following Vaccination for HBV

“…Although these data need to be confirmed in larger cohorts, it is known that sex significantly affects the competence of immune responses, contributing to differences in the pathogenesis of infectious diseases. Females usually evolve with more intense immune responses to viral infections and to vaccination in comparison to male individuals, because, typically, estrogens promote an immune-stimulating effect, while androgens are immune-suppressing [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ].…”