Seroprevalence Of Rubella Virus Antibodies Among School Children 0-10 Years In Jos Plateau State

Rubella disease occurs worldwide with seasonal variation and affects both the young andelderly and may present as an acute, mild or asymptomatic illness. Infection duringearly pregnancy may result in congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), stillbirth or miscarriage.CRS often results in multiple birth defects such as heart problems, deafness and blindnesswhich makes rubella a leading cause of preventable congenital defects. This study aimedto determine the seroprevalence of rubella-specific antibodies in school children 0-10 yearsin Jos.A cross-sectional descriptive study was done to determine the seroprevalence of rubellaspecific antibodies, prevalence of recent rubella infection and factors associated with itstransmission in Jos. Children aged 0-10 in selected schools in Jos North and South werestudied. Serum was obtained from children and tested for IgG and IgM using ELISA.A total of 405 children were studied with a mean age of 6.3 years (SD ± 2.5), out of which220 (54.3%) were female and the age group, 7-8 had the most participants (113 [27.9%]).336 (83.0%) children tested positive for rubella IgG while only 9 (2.2%) of children testedwere positive for IgM. Age ≥5 years was significantly associated with rubella seropositivitywith CI 1.01-3.08 at 95% CI and p value 0.043. There was no significant association between sex of child and rubella seropositivity. Lack of Western education wassignificantly associated with rubella seropositivity among children at 95% CI (1.21-4.25)and p value 0.009. LGA of residence was also significantly associated with rubellaseropositivity as residents of Jos North were more 10 times more likely to be have rubellaspecific antibodies than residents of Jos South. None of the study participants had ever taken rubella vaccine.A large proportion of children had no antibodies and were still susceptible to rubella virusinfection. There is a need to include rubella virus vaccine in the national routineimmunization programme.Key words : Children, ELISA, Jos, Seropositivity, Rubella

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