E3 Journal of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Research

E3 Journal of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 3 (1) pp. 10-14, March 2012; © E3 Journals; ISSN 2141-7474

Survey of the serro-prevalence of IgM antibodies in pregnant women infected with Rubella virus

Abstract

One hundred and ninety pregnant women attending Plateau State Specialist Hospital, Jos, were screened to detect the prevalence of IgM antibodies in their serum using the Biotech Diagnostic Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay Antigen Kit Method. A well-structured questionnaire was administered to the subjects to obtain socio-demographic data. Results show that out of the 190 patients that were screened, the IgM antibody was detected in 6.8% of the patients indicating that they are the population in which the rubella virus is likely to occur whereas 93.2% of the study population were not likely to be susceptible to the virus as the IgM antibody was not detected in them. Age was found to be a serious factor for the prevalence of the virus as was the case for the pregnant women who fell within the ages of 25-34years, who were observed to have the highest prevalent rates to the virus unlike other pregnant women who weren’t within that age bracket. Furthermore, women who were in their first trimesters of pregnancy recorded the highest prevalence rate to the antibody compared with the women who were in their 2nd or 3rd trimesters. In addition, pregnant women who were either single or divorced were observed not to be vulnerable to the virus as the IgM antibody was not detected in their serum unlike the pregnant women who were married. The pregnant women who had secondary education recorded the highest prevalence to the virus compared with the illiterates or those who had primary and tertiary education. Finally, the pregnant women who were farmers recorded the highest prevalence compared with the housewives, traders and civil servants.

Keywords: Sero-prevalence, Rubella virus, Pregnant women, ELISA, Antigen, Antibody