RESUMO
Introduction: Rubella is considered one of the most serious and most common congenital infections. Despite global efforts for elimination, rubella cases are still being reported in many parts of the world. The purpose of this study is to determine the level of immunity to rubella in the community and most importantly among women at childbearing age in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia and compare it with the target set by the World Health Organization (WHO) along with the incidence of acute rubella infection and the associated congenital rubella infection and congenital rubella syndrome. Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study over the six years period (Jan 2014-Jun 2020) on all individuals tested for rubella IgM and IgG in a university teaching hospital. Results: Nighty one percent (15,894/17,469) of the population tested showed evidence of rubella immunity with 8.8% (1546/17,469) being susceptible. Among women at childbearing age, susceptibility to rubella was higher with 9.2% (1220/13,278) of women showing no evidence of immunity. In addition, acute rubella infection was reported for 0.17% (29/17,469) of the population tested and 0.15% (20/13,278) in women at childbearing age. No cases of congenital rubella infection were reported in the study period. Discussion: The level of Rubella immunity in the population is 91% and is less than the WHO target for rubella control therefore, risk of resurge of cases is present, indicating the need for continued national surveillance and more efforts to improve vaccination coverage in the kingdom.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Sexually transmitted infections are a serious public health problem. Syphilis, a multistage, curable chronic disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum, remains a major health problem worldwide. The disease re-emerged in the era of HIV in many countries despite the accessibility of curative therapy and continuing public health efforts to eliminate it. OBJECTIVE: Analyse the seropositivity for syphilis. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional. SETTING: Tertiary hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied individuals who underwent screening tests for syphilis between January 2014 and December 2018. The samples that were positive by both screening and confirmatory tests were considered as confirmed positive for syphilis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Syphilis positivity identified by chemiluminescence immunoassay, the rapid plasma reagin test, and specific antibodies against Treponema pallidum. SAMPLE SIZE: 11 832. RESULTS: Of the 11 832, 54 (0.45%) were confirmed as seropositive for syphilis. Thirty-three (61.1%) were non-Saudi; 21 (38.9%) were Saudis. Thirty (55.6%) cases were males. Twenty-two (40.74%) were married and 29 (53.70%) were unmarried. Of the 54 diagnosed as syphilis positive, 28 (51.9%) were expatriate workers screened for pre-employment. The percentage of syphilis among Saudis was 0.36%. In an overall chi-square analysis, a P<.0001 indicated a difference among nationalities in the frequency of syphilis. A post-hoc analysis showed that Somalians (P=.004) and Sudanese (P=.005) differed significantly from other nationalities. CONCLUSION: The study showed that syphilis was low among the screened population. More than half of the syphilis positive cases in this study were household employees. Screening for syphilis assists in planning complementary services for target populations and improves syphilis control. LIMITATIONS: Retrospective design. Hospital-based findings may not be representative of the seroprevalence of syphilis in the general population. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.
