Evaluation of rubella immunity in a community prenatal clinic.

Since the introduction of the Rubella vaccine in 1969, prevalence of congenital Rubella syndrome (CRS) has greatly declined in the United States. However, reports of sporadic adult cases of the disease and frequent identification of non-Rubella immune (NRI) women in prenatal units may result in outbreak of CRS in susceptible communities. Identifying populations with high rates of NRI will assist in evidence-based public health intervention that may prevent epidemic of CRS in the United States. Method. This is a retrospective, cross-sectional study involving chart audit of Rubella screening results of 642 women who attended a high-risk prenatal care at a northwestern Iowa clinic between January 1 and December 31, 2007. Results. NRI was found in 6.9% of the study population. The highest prevalence rate of 10.2% was found among adolescents. NRI was highest among Native American women at 17.3%, compared to Whites 7.3%, African Americans 5.9%, and Hispanics 4.6%. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that Native Americans were 2.5 times more likely to be NRI compared to Whites (OR 2.7; 95% CI: 1.1, 6.6). Conclusion. This study demonstrated higher rate of non-Rubella immunity among adolescent pregnant women and supports Rubella booster immunization for all non-pregnant teenage women. The observed high rate of NRI among Native Americans may require further studies and evaluation of Rubella vaccination programs in tribal communities.

Efficacy of topical immunoglobulins against experimental adenoviral ocular infection.

PURPOSE: Presently, there is no U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA)-approved antiviral therapy for the treatment of adenoviral (Ad) ocular infections. The goal of the present study was to determine the antiviral efficacy of human immunoglobulin (Ig), a preparation of highly purified and concentrated immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies isolated from a large pool of human plasma donors, in vitro and on acute Ad replication in the Ad5 New Zealand White (NZW) rabbit ocular model. METHODS: The antiviral activity of human Ig against multiple wild-type and human ocular isolates of adenovirus serotypes was investigated in vitro by using neutralizing assays in different human epithelial cell lines. In vivo bilateral topical ocular toxicity and antiviral efficacy were evaluated with established Ad5/NZW rabbit ocular models. In vivo Ig antiviral results were compared with those obtained with topical 0.5% cidofovir and saline. RESULTS: In three different epithelial cell lines,