Detection of rubella antibody in pregnant women at Photharam Hospital

Abstract

Rubella virus causes German measles and many complications. Dangerous or virulence of German measles is an infection during early pregnancy, often results in fetal abnormalities that are classified as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). In Thailand, there is a policy in MMR vaccination. However, the reports from Public health ministry still report the cases of German measles. This indicated that efficacy of MMR vaccine cannot eliminate this disease. Therefore, there is still the risk for CRS burden. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the anti-rubella antibody (IgG) in the pregnant women at Photharam Hospital. Randomly select 179 pregnant women at Photharam Hospital from December 2016 to February 2017. After that, their serum were detected the anti-rubella antibody (IgG) using ELISA technique. Our result shows that the prevalence of pregnant women who have anti-rubella antibody (IgG) was 87.71%. The prevalence of seronegative in pregnant women was 12.29 %. These seronegative women have a risk for German measles. Therefore, they should be rubella vaccinated before next pregnancy to prevent the incidence of congenital rubella syndrome.