Comparative studies of rubella virus immunity of immunized and non-immunized pregnant women visiting Kogi State University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba, North Central Nigeria.

Rubella is endemic worldwide and poses a serious threat to infants and pregnant women. Although the disease has been widely reported in parts of the country, there is currently no documented evidence of the disease in Anyigba. A comparative study of rubella immunity was conducted among immunized and non-immunized pregnant women visiting the Kogi State University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba. In a cross-sectional study, blood samples collected from 300 pregnant women (immunized = 127; non-immunized = 173) were tested for rubella antibodies using ELISA kit. Overall, anti-rubella-IgM and IgG seroprevalence rates of 38 (12.7%) and 83 (27.7%) were detected. Seventy (55.1%) of the immunized against 13 (7.5%) of non-immunized women had detectable IgG. The non-immunized women were significantly more seropositive for IgM than the immunized who recorded higher prevalence of IgG. Immunized and non-immunized women aged 23-32 years had higher IgG and IgM positivity rates. The difference in IgM and IgG seropositivity rates in relation to vaccination was statistically significant (P < 0.05) between the immunized (0.8%, 55.1%) and vaccine-naïve subjects (21.4%, 7.5%). Low level of awareness and high susceptibility to rubella virus infection especially among the non-immunized women was confirmed in study area, thus the need for government to strengthen education of masses and to make rubella vaccination freely available for women of childbearing age.