Prevalence of antibodies to rubella, herpes simplex 2 and cytomegalovirus in pregnant women and in neonates at Ga-Rankuwa.

Blood samples were collected from 917 women attending the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Ga-Rankuwa Hospital during a one year period. Each woman presented with an unfavourable outcome to pregnancy. Blood was also obtained from 99 newborn babies who were jaundiced, or who died within a few days of birth or who showed gross congenital abnormalities. IgM antibodies to cytomegalovirus (CMV), Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and rubella virus were determined by commercial ELISA. CMV was found to be the most prevalent infection in both groups of women (19.2 pc) and in the babies (24.2 pc) indicating the importance of this virus in intra-uterine infection in this community. Rubella and HSV-2 infection were identified in the population sample but seemed to play a much less significant role than CMV.