Abstract
Despite the availability of effective and safe rubella vaccines for women of childbearing age, prevention and control of congenital rubella syndrome in children remains challenging in Vietnam. In order to examine this issue, we conducted a cross-sectional study, examining the current coverage of rubella vaccination before pregnancy among 807 pregnant women and women with children under 12 months of age in urban and rural districts, Dong Da and Ba Vi, in Hanoi, Vietnam. In this population, we observed an alarming non-compliance rate with rubella vaccination before pregnancy in both localities. Among the 82.0% of participants who remained unvaccinated against this contagious viral infection, 95.8% of them were in Ba Vi district, compared to 68.0% in Dong Da district (p < 0.001). Besides the differences in age, number of children, education levels, primary occupations and monthly incomes among the participants between the two districts, other reasons for noncompliance with rubella vaccination includeddisinterest in rubella vaccination, the high cost and long distance to vaccination sites as well as unawareness of vaccination locations. In addition to addressing the unique socio-economicchallenges behind one’s accessibility to vaccination services in urban and rural areas, our study supports a continued effort in ensuring proper access to and education about pre-pregnancy vaccines and vaccination among women of childbearing age in order to achieve and sustain sufficient immunization coverage of rubella and other vaccine-preventable diseases in both settings.
Highlights
Rubella is a highly contagious viral disease, primarily affecting susceptible children and women of childbearing age [1]
Of them were above 30 years old (Table 1). This age distribution was similar in Dong Da district; there were 27.3% of participants below the age of 25 in Ba Vi district compared to 8% in
Of them lived in Ba Vi district, and 89.5%of them lived in Dong Da district
Summary
Rubella is a highly contagious viral disease, primarily affecting susceptible children and women of childbearing age [1]. For pregnant women in their first trimester of pregnancy, if infected, rubella may cause fetal infection, resulting in abnormal fetal growth and even miscarriage. Rubella infection in early pregnancy may lead to congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) [1]. Babies born to rubella-infected pregnant mothers are at risk of developing numerous severe birth defects, such as deafness, cataracts, heart defects and developmental delays, due to CRS [1]. It is worth noting that since rubella vaccines are not recommended for pregnant women, vaccination against rubella among women of childbearing age is important to prevent rubella infection during pregnancy as well as CRS in children
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