Sero-Prevalence of Rubella Virus among Pregnant Women in Kaduna State Nigeria 2015

Introduction Rubella virus causes -“German measles,” also known as “three-day measles.” This is usually a milder disease than red measles. Red/Hard measles or just measles is caused by Rubeola virus. The result of acute infection of the virus is a benign systematic rash which is significantly pathogenic to humans. This virus is a, positive-strand RNA virus that replicates in the cytoplasm of the infected cell. (Brooks et al., 2007). If placental infection of the virus spread during 8-10 weeks gestation it causes a chronic infection of the fetus leading to the development of congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) (Matthews et al., 2011) The effect of the infection of the several organ systems which include the eyes, ears, heart, brain, and endocrine system is known as congenital rubella infection (CRI) (Chantler et, al.,2001) Rubella is endemic in Nigeria. Studies among women of child bearing age in Nigeria put seroprevalence at 66.6% in Imo, 77% in Lagos and 93.5% in Oyo (8-10). Thus as part of the control measure, the availability of an effective vaccine to prevent Rubella infection and therefore CRS, is necessary to evaluate the burden of disease in a country where MMR vaccine is not covered in the immunization schedule or in vaccination strategy