Seroprevalence of rubella among pregnant women in Khartoum state, Sudan

Abstract

Rubella vaccine is not included in the Sudanese national immunization programme, and data on the prevalence of rubella among women of childbearing age are inadequate. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine the seroprevalence of rubella among pregnant women in Khartoum state, Sudan. A total of 500 pregnant women who visited 7 antenatal clinics from November 2008 to March 2009 were examined for the presence of rubella IgG antibodies using ELISA. Rubella IgG antibodies were detected in 95.1% (95% CI: 93.2%-97.0%) of women. This seroprevalence was significantly associated with education level, but not with age, residence area, occupation or parity. We presume this high seroprevalence indicates a high circulation of wild rubella virus in Khartoum state. Similar studies in other Sudanese states would be important for informing a decision to introduce rubella vaccine to Sudan.

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

“…(Barreto et al, 2006). In mounting body of study conducted among Sudanese women, Rubella virus was detected in 65.3% (Hamdan et al, 2011) and 95.1% (Adam et al, 2013). In growing number of studies conducted in Turkey, rubella seropositivity among pregnant women was reported to be between 93.8 and 100% (Aksakal et al, 2007;Pehlivan et al, 2007;Seker et al, 2004).…”

A 16-year review of seroprevalence studies on measles and rubella

“…All countries surveyed, having a developed or developing status, had national vaccination programmes. However, of the countries in the least developed status, two of the 13 countries (Guinea-Bissau and Bangladesh) [10,25,70,77,89] reporting measles serosurveys and six of the eight countries (Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Nepal, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania) [25,54,56,81,85,97,98] reporting rubella serosurveys reported having no nationally coordinated vaccination programme at the time of the study. Forty-three percent of published measles serosurveys were conducted in developed countries, reflecting the need to identify susceptible populations and immunization gaps as these countries move towards achieving the measles elimination goal.…”

Rubella virus infections and immune status among pregnant women before the introduction of rubella vaccine in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

“…Rubella infection is considered relatively benign, and in the absence of pregnancy, the infection is usually mild and self-limiting (CDC, 2001). However, during pregnancy, it has a devastating effect on the developing fetus (Adam et al, 2013;Cradock-Watson et al, 1981) and this represents a major health concern worldwide (Mirambo et al, 2015). Currently, there is no specific treatment for the virus (Olajide et al, 2015).…”