Evaluation of Anti-Rubella IgG Antibody among Pregnant and Childbearing Women in Babylon Province –Iraq

Background: In countries where the rate of susceptible women to rubella infection is higher than 10%, preconception or prenatal screening is important to reduce the burden of the disease.Objectives: Determination of anti-rubella IgG seropositivity and susceptibility rates among pregnant and childbearing women in Alhela/ Babylon province. Subjects and methods: A total of 184 women were enrolled in the present study which was conducted in al-Hella/Babylon province during the period from 1st May/2010 to 15th September/ 2011. Ninety eight pregnant women were chosen from those attending the primary health care centers in Al-Hela. They include 46 (46.9%) who had previous abortions with a mean age 27.2 ± 5.3 years, and 52 (53.1%) without previous abortion with mean age 23.7±5.1 years. Additionally, 86 non-pregnant childbearing women were enrolled as a control group. Of those, 39 (45.3%) had previous abortion with mean age 33.5 ± 7.8 years. Certain demographic factors were collected by personal interview. Anti-rubella IgG specific antibody were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS version 13 computer assisted program. P value of 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The results revealed that the IgG seropositivity among pregnant women without previous abortion, and those with previous abortion was 96.1% and 76% respectively, with a statistically significant difference (P= 0.04). The seropositivity among non-pregnant women without previous abortion, and those with previous abortion was 85.1% and 100% respectively, with statistically insignificant difference (P=0.11). The overall susceptibility rate for rubella infection was 10.7%. There was insignificant effect of age, educational levels, residency, presence of pregnancy, and history of previous abortion on the seropositivity rate of IgG specific anti-rubella antibody. Conclusion: Evaluation of the susceptibility of women in reproductive age to rubella infection is essential to set a strategy for prevention of congenital rubella syndrome.