ABSTRACT

Rubella Virus (RV) causes a mild disease, but maternal infection early in pregnancy often leads to birth defects known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Rubella remains poorly controlled in Africa despite being a vaccine preventable disease. The aim of this study were to determine the survey for rubella virus and antibodies among pregnant women in Kaduna State Nigeria. The study wascarried out on pregnant womenattending ante-natal clinic in three different senatorial district in Kaduna State from the year 2013-2014.Bloodserum samples from 900 pregnant women were screened for rubella IgM and IgG antibody usingenzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The risk factors associated with rubella virus transmission among these pregnant women were identified. Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), and gene sequencing were used to confirm the presence of rubella virus in the serum sample.Of the 900 pregnant women screened, 572(63.1%) were positive for rubella IgG and 39(4.3%) were positive for rubella IgM. The prevalence of rubella IgG was highest among the age group 41-45 years old (83.3%) and IgM was highest among the age group 21-25 years old (6.1%).The IgG test results shows that out of the 497 pregnant women enrolled in their first trimester,273 (54.9%) pregnant women tested positive,while the IgM positive results shows 24(4.8%) in their first trimester. Although the southern senatorial district had the highest sero-prevalence 14(35.9%) among the three centres, the differences were not statistically significant (p=0.05). Only three people claimed to have been vaccinated against rubella virus and these people were negative for rubella. Acquisition of secondary education and being a house wife were insignificantly associated (p=0.05).The serological evidence of rubella virus found in pregnant women in this study is an indication that rubella is prevalent in Kaduna State, Nigeria. It is however still necessary to immunize seronegative women against rubella before they get pregnant

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