Seroprevalence of IgG Antibodies against Rubella in Young Females in a Medical College in Chennai, India

Introduction: Rubella being a mild infection, rarely causes any complications in childhood, will cause adverse effects during pregnancy ranging from miscarriage to a child born with congenital rubella syndrome. Females of reproductive age group must be immune to rubella to prevent infection during pregnancy. Medical students and healthcare workers should have sufficient immunity to rubella as there are increased chances of them getting exposed to the infection. To estimate the immune status against rubella, measurement of Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody titre will be helpful.

Aim: To detect the level of IgG antibodies specific to rubella in the sera of young female students in a Medical College in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India and to determine the proportion of anti-rubella IgG seropositivity.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at ESIC Medical College and PGIMSR, KK Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, from July 2019 to August 2019. A total of 90 female students of the age group 19-26 years were selected by random sampling method. After obtaining informed consent, their blood samples were collected. The IgG antibody titre in the serum was estimated by indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0.

Results: Based on the test results, 62 (68.9%) were immune, 25 (27.8%) were not immune, and 3 (3.3%) had indeterminate results. No association was found between the age of the participants and their immune status.

Conclusion: Through the present study, it can be concluded that there was a low level of seropositivity of protective rubella antibodies among females, particularly the medical students who were the study population.