Rubella: serosusceptibility among Egyptian females in late childhood and childbearing period.
Our objective was to determine age-specific rubella susceptibility among Egyptian females. This was a cross-sectional survey in eight randomly selected communities, with the largest number of reported rubella cases in the 2007 Rubella surveillance. A sample of 5672 females between the ages of 6 and 45 years were interviewed. Of those 602 blood samples were obtained and tested for rubella IgG. The proportion of seronegative females was 9.7%. The highest proportion of susceptible females was in the ages between 6 and 25 years and the highest risk of susceptibility was among unmarried females [odds ratio (OR)=7.2]. The knowledge of interviewed females about rubella, the vaccine and the effect rubella infection on pregnancy and on the fetus was very limited. In conclusion more vaccination coverage is needed, with simultaneous increase of public awareness to minimize the susceptible female population.
Hashem
Mohamed
M
International Health Division, Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. mhashem@epi.umaryland.edu
Husein
Mohamed Hasan
MH
Saleh
Doa'a A
DA
Abdelhai
Rehab
R
Eltahlawy
Eman
E
Esmat
Hala
H
Horeesh
Nagah
N
Abdalla
Mounir
M
Moustafa
Nadia
N
El-Gohary
Amany
A
Azzazi
Nahed
N
Kandeel
Amr
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D012409:Rubella / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G