Rubella immune status of neonates – a window towards seroprevalence among childbearing women

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Milica Rankovic Janevski¹  Iris Pejcic¹  Maja Stanojevic²  Aleksandra Knezevic²  Djordje Jevtovic³ 

[1] Institute of Neonatology, Belgrade, Serbia;University of Belgrade School of Medicine, Belgrade, Serbia;University of Belgrade School of Medicine, Belgrade, Serbia;Infectious and Tropical Diseases University Hospital, Clinical Center Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia;

关键词: Rubella;    Seroprevalence;    IgG titer;    Neonates;    Mothers;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-016-3514-y

 received in 2015-11-18, accepted in 2016-08-13,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundWhen contracted in pregnancy, rubella may cause serious chronic infection of the fetus and development of Congenital Rubella Syndrome. Despite widespread application of rubella vaccination, periodical outbreaks are still being reported worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine rubella seroprevalence and antibody levels in neonates in Serbia as a proxy of maternal serostatus.MethodsELISA based serological testing for rubella was done in 599 neonates treated at the Institute of Neonatology in Belgrade, from January 2010 to December 2011. All individuals with rubella IgG concentration ≥10 IU/ml were considered seropositive for rubella.ResultsThe mean age of enrolled neonates was 18 ± 6 days. The overall seroprevalence of rubella IgG antibodies among the tested neonates was 540/599(90.2 %, 95 % CI: 87.5–92.3). Seropositivity rate among sera of the neonates enrolled in 2010 was significantly higher than those collected in 2011 (p < 0.0001). There was no difference in average maternal age, gestational age or frequency of receiving blood products among the two study years. Significant high seropositivity rate was observed among neonates from mother aged >30 as compared to those from mothers aged <20 years (p = 0.02). Significant difference was also found between average IgG titers in the two study years (79 IU/mL in 2010 vs. 46 IU/mL in 2011, p < 0.0001).ConclusionWe report on high rubella seroprevalence among newborns in Serbia, as a proxy of rubella serostatus of childbearing aged women. Notably, declining trend of rubella antibodies toward diminishing titers suggest the importance of sustained rubella serosurvey and antenatal screening at the national level.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016