Significance of IgG-avidity in antenatal rubella diagnosis

A descriptive study was carried out to determine the significance of IgG-affinity in the serological diagnosis of rubella infections in pregnancy. A total of 92 pregnant women who had never received antirubella vaccines were recruited by simple random selection and did not exceed 24 weeks of gestation were recruited from the antenatal clinics of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital. Rubella virus-specific IgG, IgG-affinity and IgM were tested, using the Indirect ELISA methods. IgG-Affinity tests showed that 2 [2.2%] out of the 92 pregnant women, who were in their first and second trimester pregnancies respectively, had primary Rubella infections, while 1 [1.1%] primigravidae had a re-infection with rubella virus. It was also discovered that out of the 13 multigravid subjects that reported to have lost previous pregnancies, 2 [15.4%] cases may have been due to rubella infections that occurred during organogenesis. Although the isolation of the whole virus or the viral nucleic material is the best basis for diagnosis, IgG-affinity is a proven supplementary serological diagnosis, to distinguish reinfection or viral persistence from primary exposure for prompt and accurate diagnosis. This is necessary for proper counselling of pregnant women especially in low economies where molecular diagnosis may not be affordable

Knowledge, attitude and practices of pregnant women attending university of Ilorin teaching hospital with regard to rubella

This study was carried out to clarify the potential health-risk and to determinant the prevalence of antenatal rubella infection in North-Central, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out among pregnant women to establish the knowledge, attitude and practices with regards to antenatal rubella infection in early pregnancy in Ilorin. A total of 92 subjects were recruited by simple random selection from the antenatal clinics of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Results showed that congenitally defective eyes or ears were regarded as a greater burden to bear than a congenitally defective heart. Pregnant mothers are more likely to abort a congenitally defective fetus before term. Multigravid pregnant women are more likely to have an abortion [X[2] = 12.48, df = 4, p = 0.014], just as married pregnant women were more likely to abort a congenitally defective fetus before term [X[2]= 23.64, df = 4, p = 0.0]. It is a general assumption that Nigeria today is majorly rural, therefore, health educational activities for prompt antenatal reporting in sub-urban Ilorin, and Nigeria as a whole, may be a relevant intervention for pregnant women