Seroepidemiology of Rubella Among Female Students of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences in 2014

Objectives Despite vaccination, rubella is still considered as a major disease and a threat to global health. According to evidence, approximately 100 000 cases of congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) occur annually in the world. The current study aimed at determining the immune status of rubella among female students of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzever, Iran.
Methods In the current cross sectional study, 143 female students filled out the questionnaires focusing demographic and epidemiological properties (residency, history of rubella vaccine, history of rubella infection among him/herself and the family members). Then, after obtaining the informed consent, blood samples were obtained from the students, and anti-rubella IgM and IgG were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 16, using descriptive statistical methods and Chi-square test.
Results According to the results of the current study, 45.8% of the participants were from Sabzevar and the rest were from other cities of Iran; 3% of the students had not received rubella vaccine. Results obtained from ELISA test showed that all serum samples were negative for rubella-specific IgM. Also, 99.3% of the students had acceptable titers (>10 IU/mL) for the rubella-specific IgG.
Conclusion The current study showed that the rubella immune status was quite satisfactory among the female students of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences.