Rubella virus seroprevalence and associated factors in pregnant women with and without previous spontaneous abortion

Abstract

Background: Rubella virus infection is associate with various pregnancy outcomes. Usually, such infection is more prevalent among women with low positivity for protective immunoglobulin G (IgG). Several factors are known to influence the seroprevalence of this virus. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of anti-rubella IgG and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies and associated factors among pregnant women with and without a history of abortion. Materials and Methods: A total of 91 pregnant women (79 women with a history of previous abortion and 12 women without such history) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Sera were collected from each woman, and the levels of rubella IgG and IgM were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Demographic and reproductive data for the women were also collected. Univariate logistic regression was used to find the association of factor with serostatus of the virus. Results: The overall seropositivity for IgG and IgM was 95.6%, (95% confidence interval [CI] = 91.3–99.9) 9.89%, (95% CI = 9.68–10.1), while six women (6.59%) were positive for both types of Igs. Two factors showed a significant association with rubella IgG seropositivity: A history of previous abortion (odds ratio [OR] = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.45.0.99, P