Prevalence of rubella antibodies in a non-immunized urban population, São Paulo, Brazil

Authors

  • Vanda A.U.F. Souza Universidade de São Paulo; Faculdade de Medicina; Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases; Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
  • José Cassio Moraes Secretaria Estadual da Saúde do Estado de São Paulo; Centro de Vigilância Epidemiológica Alexandre Vranjac
  • Laura M Sumita Universidade de São Paulo; Faculdade de Medicina; Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases; Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
  • Maria Claudia C. Camargo Secretaria Estadual da Saúde do Estado de São Paulo; Centro de Vigilância Epidemiológica Alexandre Vranjac
  • Maria Cristina D.S. Fink Universidade de São Paulo; Faculdade de Medicina; Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases; Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
  • Neuma T. R. Hidalgo Secretaria Estadual da Saúde do Estado de São Paulo; Centro de Vigilância Epidemiológica Alexandre Vranjac
  • Claudio S. Pannuti Universidade de São Paulo; Faculdade de Medicina; Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases; Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo

Keywords:

Rubella, Seroprevalence

Abstract

The prevalence of rubella antibodies was evaluated through a ramdom Seroepidemiological survey in 1400 blood samples of 2-14 year old children and in 329 samples of umbilical cord serum. Rubella IgG antibodies were detected by ELISA, and the sera were collected in 1987, five years before the mass vaccination campaign with measles-mumps-rubella vaccine carried out in the city of São Paulo in 1992. A significant increase in prevalence of rubella infection was observed after 6 years of age, and 77% of the individuals aged from 15 to 19 years had detectable rubella antibodies. However, the seroprevalence rose to 90.5% (171/189) in cord serum samples from children whose mothers were 20 to 29 years old, and reached 95.6% in newborns of mothers who were 30 to 34 years old, indicating that a large number of women are infected during childbearing years. This study confirms that rubella infection represents an important Public Health problem in São Paulo city. The data on the seroprevalence of rubella antibodies before the mass vaccination campaign reflects the baseline immunological status of this population before any intervention and should be used to design an adequate vaccination strategy and to assess the Seroepidemiological impact of this intervention.

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Published

1994-08-01

Issue

Section

Brief Communication

How to Cite

Souza, V. A., Moraes, J. C., Sumita, L. M., Camargo, M. C. C., Fink, M. C. D., Hidalgo, N. T. R., & Pannuti, C. S. (1994). Prevalence of rubella antibodies in a non-immunized urban population, São Paulo, Brazil . Revista Do Instituto De Medicina Tropical De São Paulo, 36(4), 373-376. https://revistas.usp.br/rimtsp/article/view/29180