Seroprevalence of rubella and immunogenicity following rubella vaccination in adolescent girls in India

Abstract

Introduction: Serologic surveys conducted in different countries indicate that rubella is a worldwide infection. Several such sero surveys conducted in India have also confirmed that 6-47% of women are susceptible to rubella infection. The current study was conducted on 1,329 female adolescents in 12 districts of Maharashtra, India, to assess their serological status in terms of rubella exposure. Methodology: After enrollment, a pre-vaccination blood sample was collected from the participants followed by rubella vaccination (R-vac). Adverse events were monitored for the next 6-8 weeks, at which time a post-vaccination sample was collected. Results: Pre-vaccination rubella immunity was higher in the urban (80.2%) population compared to the rural (73.1%) population. Following R-vac vaccination, out of 1,159 participants who completed the study, all (100%) in the urban and 99.5% of participants in the rural area developed antibodies against rubella. Conclusion: Substantial numbers of women reach childbearing age without immunity against rubella and thus are at a risk of passing the infection to their fetuses, who can then develop subsequent congenital defects leading to congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). An immunization policy recommending vaccination with rubella or rubella containing vaccine is highly desirable to prevent rubella and CRS.

Seroprevalence of Rubella Virus-specific Antibodies in Women and the Diagnostic Efficacy of Enzyme-linked Immunoassay and Rapid Immunochromatographic Tests

“…A seroprevalence rate of 67.3% was noted among girls in the age group of 11-18 years as reported by a study from Jammu and Kashmir, North India [8]. The seroprevalence of Rubellaspecific IgG antibodies appear to vary significantly with geographic locations, age, socioeconomic status, and the standards of living as evidenced by the reports from New Delhi, also a North Indian state with a 90% seroprevalence [9].…”

Rubella Antibody Prevalence and Immunogenicity of Single Dose Rubella Vaccine Among 16 – 25 Years Girls from Bangladesh

“…This figure is comparable with other published literatures from abroad. [20][21][22] The World Health Organization (WHO) established goals to eliminate rubella and CRS in the WHO Region of the Americas by 2010, the European Region by 2015, and in the WHO Western Pacific Region for accelerated rubella control and CRS elimination by 2015. Sustained vaccination strategy enabled America to decrease rubella cases by 98%, from 1,35,947 in 1998 to 2,998 in 2006.…”

An infant with congenital rubella syndrome in developing India

“…Sharma et al reported that re-vaccination rubella immunity was 76% in 1359 Indian female children tested in 13 districts of Maharashtra state. After giving R-vac vaccine, 99.7% children developed antibodies to rubella 21. Studies on immunogenicity of MMR vaccine showed average 95% seroprevalence in children aged between 1 and 10 years in India after 5-year follow-up.…”