Daniel Eshetu
Background: Rubella is an important human pathogen that causes an acute and contagious infectious disease
caused by a single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the family Togaviridae. As the clinical diagnosis of rubella is
unreliable, serological tests are required for a diagnosis and the role of the laboratory is crucial in the management
of rubella infection. Therefore, this study aimed to assess retrospective trends of rubella virus-specific IgM antibodies
from measles suspected cases with negative/intermediate results for measles infection.
Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 1518 samples from 2015 to 2019 at Hawassa
regional Public Health Laboratory, Southern Ethiopia. Measles suspected sample tested for IgM antibody and the
results were negative/ intermediate for the measles virus, and those samples done for specific IgM antibody tests
for Rubella virus were included in the study. Data on socio-demographic and clinical information of the patients'
samples were retrieved from case-based reporting form, while results of Rubella specific IgM antibody tests were
obtained from logbook of regional laboratory. Data entry and analysis was done by using SPSS version 20.
Result: Of the total 1518 cases of measles suspected but test negative/ intermediate samples were analyzed for rubella
virus specific-IgM antibody. About 246 (16.2%) were positive for rubella IgM antibody. Of these 246 rubella infected
cases, 122(8.0%) males and 124(8.2%) were females. Measles suspected cases with age group of 2-5 years old had a
higher prevalence rate of rubella virus infection followed by age group of 6-9 years old, the rate was 6.3% and 5.1%,
respectively.
Conclusion: This study highlights the significant seroprevalence of rubella antibodies among measles suspected
children. Providing and incorporating rubella-containing vaccines in the immunization program is vital for the
eradication of the rubella virus infection. In addition, an organized surveillance study is required for the good
estimations of rubella virus infection and its impact of congenital transmission.
Abbreviations: ELISA: Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbant Assay; CRS: Congenital Rubella Syndrome; SPSS:
Statistical Package For Social Sciences; WHO: World Health Organization
Published Date: 2021-03-01;