The Immunological detection of Rubella virus among aborted women in Diyala province, Iraq
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24237/04.01.495Keywords:
Rubella virus, , ELISA, Pregnant women, , AbortionAbstract
German measles is a public illness that can cause congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) and abortion, among other devastating consequences for expectant mothers. The sickness is brought on by the rubella virus. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of rubella virus antibodies among aborted women in Diyala province, Iraq. In the current study, 120 samples were taken from three groups: pregnant women with previous abortion, non-pregnant women with previous abortion, and healthy pregnant women without abortion as a control group. Each group consisted of 40 women. The ELISA technique was used to measure rubella virus IgG and IgM antibodies in serum samples obtained from the Al-Batool Hospital laboratory. A questionnaire was used to collect data on clinical and demographic characteristics. The results indicated that the seropositivity of RV-IgM among pregnant women with abortion and healthy pregnant women was 0%, but the seropositivity of RV-IgM among non-pregnant women with prior abortion was 2.5%. The RV-IgG levels were 80% among pregnant women who have had prior abortions, 75% in non-pregnant women with prior abortions, and 82.5% in healthy pregnant women without abortion. The study found that women with a history of miscarriage had high levels of rubella IgG antibodies, indicating that they had previously been exposed to the rubella virus or vaccination state. The low incidence of IgM antibodies suggests a limited number of recent infections. These findings highlight the necessity of rubella immunization and surveillance in women of reproductive age to avoid rubella-related problems during pregnancy.
Downloads
References
[1] E. Martínez-Quintana, C. Castillo-Solórzano, N. Torner, F. Rodríguez-González, “Congenital rubella syndrome: a matter of concern,” Rev. Panam. Salud Publica, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 179–186, Mar. 2015.
[2] H. Veale, “History of an Epidemic of Rötheln, with Observations on Its Pathology,” Edinburgh Med. J., vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 404–414, Nov. 1866.
[3] P. J. Walker, S. G. Siddell, E. J. Lefkowitz, et al., “Changes to virus taxonomy and the International Code of Virus Classification and Nomenclature ratified by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (2019),” Arch. Virol., vol. 164, no. 9, pp. 2417-2429, Sep. 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-019-04306-w.
[4] J. M. Best, “Rubella,” Semin. Fetal Neonatal Med., vol. 12, no. 3, pp.182–192, Jun. 2007, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.siny.2007.01.017.
[5] J. E. Drutz, “Rubella,” Pediatr. Rev., vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 129–130, 2010, doi: https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.31-3-129.
[6] L. A. Zimmerman, J. K. Knapp, S. Antoni, G. B. Grant, S. E. Reef, “Progress Toward Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrome Control and Elimination – Worldwide, 2012-2020,” MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep., vol. 71, no. 6, pp. 196–201, Feb. 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7106a2.
[7] World Health Organization, “Rubella vaccines: WHO position paper – July 2020,” Wkly, Epidemiol. Rec., vol. 95, no. 27, pp. 301-324, Jul. 2020. Available: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-WER9527.
[8] S. L. Kempster, “WHO international standard for anti-rubella: learning from its application,” The Lancet Infect. Dis., vol. 20, no. 1, pp. E17–E19, Jan. 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30274-9.
[9] L. Dontigny, M. Y. Arsenault, M. J. Martel, “Rubella in Pregnancy,” J. Obstet. Gynaecol. Can., vol. 40, no. 8, pp. e615-e621, Aug. 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogc.2018.05.009.
[10] J. E. Banatvala, D. W. Brown, “Rubella,” Lancet, vol. 363, no. 9415, pp. 1127-1137, Apr. 2004, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15897-2.
[11] W. Tyor, T. Harrison, “Mumps and rubella,” Handb. Clin. Neurol., vol. 123, pp. 591-600, 2014, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53488-0.00028-6.
[12] M. De Santis, A. F. Cavaliere, G. Straface, A. Caruso, “Rubella infection in pregnancy,” Reprod. Toxicol., vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 390-398, May 2006, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reprotox.2005.01.014.
[13] R. S. Duszak, “Congenital rubella syndrome—major review,” Optometry, vol. 80, no. 1, pp. 36-43, Jan. 2009, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optm.2008.03.006.
[14] E. Vynnycky, E. J. Adams, F. T. Cutts, S. E. Reef, A. M. Navar, A. M. Simons, A. J. Dabbagh, “Using seroprevalence and immunization coverage data to estimate the global burden of congenital rubella syndrome, 1996-2010: a systematic review,” PLoS One, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. e0149160, 2016, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0149160.
[15] A. K. Winter, B. Lambert, D. Klein, P. Klepac, T. Papadopoulos, S. Truelove, M. Jit, “Feasibility of measles and rubella vaccination programs for disease elimination: a modeling study,” Lancet Glob. Health, vol. 10, no. 10, pp. e1412-e1422, Oct. 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(22)00335-7.
[16] N. Lambert, P. Strebel, W. Orenstein, J. Icenogle, G. A. Poland, “Rubella,” The Lancet, vol. 385, no. 9984, pp. 2297–2307, Jun. 2015, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60539-0.
[17] A. Bukasa, H. Campbell, K. Brown, H. Bedford, M. Ramsay, G. Amirthalingam, P. Tookey, “Rubella infection in pregnancy and congenital rubella in United Kingdom, 2003 to 2016,” Euro Surveill., vol. 23, no. 19, pp.17-00381, May, 2018, doi: https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2018.23.19.17-00381.
[18] J. S. Brunton, R. N. Theiler, R. Mehta, M. E. Branda, E. A. L. Enninga, V. E. Torbenson, “Efficacy of rubella vaccination after co-inoculation with Rhogam,” Viruses, vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 1782, Aug. 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/v15091782.
[19] A. S. Gumar, T. H. Ali, “Evaluation of the efficacy of the rubella vaccine in MMR-vaccinated children and its correlation with IL-6 and IFN-γ levels in Thi-Qar Province/Iraq,” Univ. Thi-Qar J. Med., vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 143-152, Apr. 2024. Available: https://jmed.utq.edu.iq/index.php/main/article/view/495/564.
[20] A. N. Fayad, I. N. Abid, “ELISA and ICT techniques in the detection of anti-Rubella virus antibodies in aborted women in Al-Nasiriyah city, Thi-Qar, Iraq,” Univ. Thi-Qar J., vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 1-10, Dec. 2017, doi: https://doi.org/10.32792/utq/utj/vol12/4/4.
[21] H. Y. Khadair, S. F. Al-Shaikh, “Assessment of immune susceptibility to rubella among pregnant women in Hilla city,” Med. J. Babylon, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 312-315, Jan. 2019, doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/MJBL.MJBL_90_18.
[22] World Health Organization, “Surveillance guidelines for measles, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in the WHO European Region,” (2012). Available: https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/260123.
[23] O. M. Olajide, M. Aminu, A. J. Randawa, D. S. Adejo, “Seroprevalence of rubella-specific IgM and IgG antibodies among pregnant women seen in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria,” Int. J. Womens Health, vol. 7, pp. 75-83, 2015, doi: https://doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S68667.
[24] M. Murhekar, S. Verma, K. Singh, A. Bavdekar, N. Benakappa, S. Santhanam, et al., “Epidemiology of congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in India, 2016-18, based on data from sentinel surveillance,” PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., vol. 14, no. 2, pp. e0007982, 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007982.
[25] A. R. S. Hasan, A. A. Al-Duliami, A. A. Neima, A. H. Al-Jurani, “Seropositivity of anti-rubella antibodies among premarriage girls in Diyala province,” Diyala J. Pure Sci., vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 259-267, 2011.
[26] A. R. S. Hasan, “Seroprevalence of anti-rubella IGg antibody among pregnant and childbearing women in Diyala province, Iraq,” Diyala J. Med., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 27-32, 2011.
[27] I. A. Naqid, S. H. Yousif, N. R. Hussein, “Seroprevalence of rubella and herpes simplex virus in women with miscarriage and stillbirth in Zakho city, Kurdistan region, Iraq: a cross-sectional study,” Women Health Bull., vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 18-22, 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.30476/WHB.2020.84328.1027.
[28] S. Rasti, F. S. Ghasemi, A. Abdoli, A. Piroozmand, S. G. A. Mousavi, Z. Fakhrie‐Kashan, “ToRCH “co‐infections” are associated with increased risk of abortion in pregnant women,” Congenit. Anom., vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 73-78, 2016, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/cga.12138.
[29] H. Z. Hamdan, I. E. Abdelbagi, N. M. Nasser, I. Adam, “Seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus and rubella among pregnant women in western Sudan,” Virol. J., vol. 8, pp. 1-4, 2011, doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/1743-422X-8-217.
[30] G. S. Tamer, D. Dundar, E. Caliskan, “Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii, rubella and cytomegalovirus among pregnant women in western region of Turkey,” Clin. Invest. Med., vol. 32, no. 1, pp. E43-E47, 2009, doi: https://doi.org/10.25011/cim.v32i1.5086.
[31] M. Parlak, N. Çim, B. N. Erdin, A. Güven, Y. Bayram, R. Yıldızhan, “Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma, rubella, and cytomegalovirus among pregnant women in Van,” Turk. J. Obstet. Gynecol., vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 79-82, 2015, doi: https://doi.org/10.4274/tjod.35902.
[32] S. Calimeri, A. Capua, V. La Fauci, R. Squeri, O. C. Grillo, D. L. “Giudice, Prevalence of serum anti-rubella virus antibodies among pregnant women in southern Italy,” Int. J. Gynecol. Obstet., vol. 116, no. 3, pp. 211-213, 2012, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2011.10.029.
[33] D. Sathanandan, L. Gupta, B. Liu, A. Rutherford, J. Lane, “Factors associated with low immunity to rubella infection on antenatal screening,” Aust. N. Z. J. Obstet. Gynaecol., vol. 45, no. 5, pp. 435-438, 2005, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1479-828X.2005.00467.x.
[34] H. L. Alaoui, M. Seffar, J. Kassouati, A. Zouaki, H. Kabbaj, “Rubella seroprevalence among pregnant women in the region of Rabat, Morocco: a cross-sectional study,” BMJ Open, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. e067842, 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067842.
[35] C. Castillo-Solórzano, C. Marsigli, P. Bravo-Alcántara, et al., “Elimination of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in the Americas,” J. Infect. Dis., vol. 204, no. Suppl 2, pp. S571–S578, Sep. 2011, doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jir472.
[36] E. Terracciano, F. Amadori, V. Pettinicchio, L. Zaratti, E. Franco, “Strategies for elimination of rubella in pregnancy and congenital rubella syndrome in high and upper-middle income countries,” J. Prev. Med. Hyg., vol. 61, no. 1, pp. E98-E108, Apr. 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2020.61.1.1310.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 CC BY 4.0

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.








