Prevalence of Rubella Immunity among Women Seeking Antenatal Care in a Tertiary Institution, South-South, Nigeria

Aims: To determine rubella sero-prevalence (IgG, IgM) and to describe its relation to socio-demographic data among pregnant women in a tertiary institution in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, South-South, Nigeria.

Study Design: This was a descriptive cross sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Federal Medical Centre in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State, in South-South Nigeria between May 2020 and August 2020.

Methodology: We included 398 women at various stages of pregnancy. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain socio demographic data. Ten ml of venous blood was then collected for serological assays. Analyses of samples were done using an in-vitro on-site rubella IgG/IgM rapid diagnostic assay. P value were kept at 0.05.

Results: A total of 209 (53.0%) of the 398 women had a positive IgG antibodies. None (0.0%) of the women had positive IgM antibodies. There were no significant associations between respondents socio-demographic characteristics and rubella immunity as the probability values observed were greater than 0.05 (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Our study shows a moderately high sero-prevalence of IgG antibodies amongst the participants studied. This indicates that rubella infection is endemic in Nigeria and requires further surveillance and control.