Comparative studies of rubella virus immunity of immunized and non-immunized pregnant women visiting Kogi State University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba, North Central Nigeria.

Martin-Luther O Okolo, Cornelius A Omatola, Ogbu Ogbonnaya, Lillian E Odama, Kizito E Bello, Benjamin M Idache, Onyeukwu U Ekuma

Journal of immunoassay & immunochemistry 2020 Jul 03

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Rubella is endemic worldwide and poses a serious threat to infants and pregnant women. Although the disease has been widely reported in parts of the country, there is currently no documented evidence of the disease in Anyigba. A comparative study of rubella immunity was conducted among immunized and non-immunized pregnant women visiting the Kogi State University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba. In a cross-sectional study, blood samples collected from 300 pregnant women (immunized = 127; non-immunized = 173) were tested for rubella antibodies using ELISA kit. Overall, anti-rubella-IgM</a> and IgG seroprevalence rates of 38 (12.7%) and 83 (27.7%) were detected. Seventy (55.1%) of the immunized against 13 (7.5%) of non-immunized women had detectable IgG. The non-immunized women were significantly more seropositive for IgM than the immunized who recorded higher prevalence of IgG. Immunized and non-immunized women aged 23-32 years had higher IgG and IgM positivity rates. The difference in IgM and IgG seropositivity rates in relation to vaccination was statistically significant (P < 0.05) between the immunized (0.8%, 55.1%) and vaccine-naïve subjects (21.4%, 7.5%). Low level of awareness and high susceptibility to rubella virus infection especially among the non-immunized women was confirmed in study area, thus the need for government to strengthen education of masses and to make rubella vaccination freely available for women of childbearing age.

Citation

Martin-Luther O Okolo, Cornelius A Omatola, Ogbu Ogbonnaya, Lillian E Odama, Kizito E Bello, Benjamin M Idache, Onyeukwu U Ekuma. Comparative studies of rubella virus immunity of immunized and non-immunized pregnant women visiting Kogi State University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba, North Central Nigeria. Journal of immunoassay & immunochemistry. 2020 Jul 03;41(4):709-717