SEROLOGIC SCREENING FOR ANTI-RUBELLA IgG ANTIBODIES IN ROMANIAN PREGNANT WOMEN: AN UNEXPECTED RATE OF SERONEGATIVITY.
SEROLOGIC SCREENING FOR ANTI-RUBELLA IgG ANTIBODIES IN ROMANIAN PREGNANT WOMEN: AN UNEXPECTED RATE OF SERONEGATIVITY.
Larisa Maria Morariu,M. A. Lupu,3 Authors,T. Olariu
2025 · DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2025.108137
International Journal of Infectious Diseases · 0 Citations
TLDR
The results indicate that the Rubella seronegativity rate was significant and should be explained by potential vaccine hesitancy, vaccination program challenges and "failure to vaccinate" in this population group.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
This study assessed the risk for Rubella infection among pregnant women from Romania.METHODS
Serologic testing was conducted between 2022-2023 in 1279 women to demonstrate the presence of specific anti-Rubella IgG antibodies, using Elecsys Rubella IgG designed for Cobas e 411 analyzers.RESULTS
The overall seroprevalence of IgG antibodies was 87.02%, indicating a protective immunity developed after past infection or vaccination. However, in 12.98% of the pregnant women, anti-Rubella antibodies were not detected. Pregnant women aged 12-19 years, who should have been vaccinated with MMR vaccine according to the national vaccination program, had the highest rate of seronegativity (21.15%).CONCLUSIONS
This study offers insights regarding the epidemiology and susceptibility to Rubella infection among pregnant women from Romania. Our results indicate that the Rubella seronegativity rate was significant. This result may be explained by potential vaccine hesitancy, vaccination program challenges and "failure to vaccinate" in this population group. Public health authorities should expand awareness regarding the risk associated with Rubella infection and increase education on vaccine efficacy especially among fertile women, to further increase the vaccination coverage and prevent CRS.