Seroprevalence of Rubella IgG Antibodies in Women of Child Bearing Age Attending University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti Nigeria

Abstract

Rubella is a disease caused by rubella virus. It causes a significant human public health problem in developing countries, Nigeria inclusive. Efforts were made in this study to determine its seroprevalence in women of child bearing age attending University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, and Ekiti State in Nigeria. Out of a total of 151 samples tested using IgG sandwich ELISA based kits, 132 (87.4%) were positive while 19(12.6%) were negative. The women within the age range 21¬25years had the highest prevalence of 23.8% while the least was in the age range 41-60 (4.6%). Among different occupations, civil servants and traders had the highest prevalence of 27.8% each while the least was observed among housewives (26%). Results from educational status showed that women that had tertiary education had the highest prevalence (43.7%) while women that had no formal education had the least prevalence (1.3%) this study strongly indicates that rubella virus infections are present and active in Ekiti State. It is therefore recommended that adequate vaccine coverage given to women that may not have been exposed to the virus to avoid problems associated with congenital rubella syndrome.