title: Age specific rubella seroprevalence of an unvaccinated population of adolescents in Ankara, Turkey.
abstract: This study was designed to detect the age-specific rubella seroprevalence of an unvaccinated population of adolescents in Ankara, Turkey. Four hundred and forty adolescents (227 females, 213 males), aged 9-16 years, who were admitted to the Adolescent Unit from July to August 2000 were included in this study. For each participant, a questionnaire was completed and rubella-specific IgG antibodies were screened quantitatively by enzyme-linked fluorescent assay. Of the 440 patients screened for rubella antibodies, 32 (7.3%) were seronegative. Rubella seronegativity values according to sex and age groups were as follows: 15.3, 6.6, and 1.3% in females, and 12.0, 6.1, and 6.2% in males, in the age groups of 9-10, 11-13, and 14-16 years, respectively. The routine health supervision visit recommended between the age of 11 and 12 is an ideal time to immunize unvaccinated adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Adolescent Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara 06100, Turkey. nuraykanbur@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Nuray Oksuz
authors.initials: NO
authors.lastname: Kanbur
authors.forename: Orhan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Derman
authors.forename: Tezer
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kutluk
authors.forename: Erol
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kinik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011153:Population; D012409:Rubella / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012411:Rubella Vaccine; D012412:Rubella virus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012411:Rubella Vaccine