Prevalence of rubella antibodies in a non-immunized urban population, São Paulo, Brazil Prevalência de anticorpos anti-vírus da rubéola em população urbana não imunizada, São Paulo, Brasil

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Vanda A.U.F. Souza, José Cassio Moraes, Laura M Sumita, Maria Claudia C. Camargo, Maria Cristina D.S. Fink, Neuma T. R. Hidalgo, Claudio S. Pannuti
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 1994
• Subjects: Rubella; Seroprevalence; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46651994000400011; https://doaj.org/article/9b57880baf5149179c21e6b8ae4eaf3a

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. A prevalência de anticorpos contra o vírus da rubéola foi avaliada através de inquérito soroepidemiológico, em 1400 amostras de sangue de crianças com idade entre 2 e 14 anos e 329 amostras de soro de cordão umbilical. Anticorpos para o vírus da rubéola foram detectados pela técnica de ELISA e as amostras foram colhidas em 1987, 5 anos antes da campanha de vacinação em massa com a vacina tríplice viral realizada na cidade de São Paulo em 1992. Um aumento significativo na prevalência foi observado após 6 anos de idade, e 77% dos indivíduos entre 15 e 19 anos apresentaram anticorpos anti-rubéola. Entretanto, a soroprevalência elevou-se para 90,5% (171/189) em soros de cordão de crianças cujas mães apresentavam idade entre 20 e 29 anos, alcançando 95,6% no grupo etário ...