Descriptive epidemiology of rubella disease and associated virus strains in Uganda
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Medical Virology
Abstract
Rubella virus causes a mild disease; however, infection during the first trimester of
pregnancy may lead to congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in over 80% of affected
pregnancies. Vaccination is recommended and has been shown to effectively reduce
CRS incidence. Uganda plans to introduce routine rubella vaccination in 2019. The
World Health Organization recommends assessing the disease burden and obtaining
the baseline molecular virological data before vaccine introduction. Sera collected
during case‐based measles surveillance from January 2005 to July 2018 were tested
for rubella immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies. Sera from confirmed rubella
outbreaks from January 2012 to August 2017 were screened using real‐time
reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR); for positive samples, a
region within the E1 glycoprotein coding region was amplified and sequenced. Of the
23 196 suspected measles cases serologically tested in parallel for measles and
rubella, 5334 (23%) were rubella IgM‐positive of which 2710 (50.8%) cases were
females with 2609 (96.3%) below 15 years of age. Rubella IgM‐positive cases were
distributed throughout the country and the highest number was detected in April,
August, and November. Eighteen (18%) of the 100 sera screened were real‐time RTPCR‐
positive of which eight (44.4%) were successfully sequenced and genotypes 1G
and 2B were identified. This study reports on the seroprevalence and molecular
epidemiology of rubella. Increased knowledge of former and current rubella viruses
circulating in Uganda will enhance efforts to monitor the impact of vaccination as
Uganda moves toward control and elimination of rubella and CRS.
Description
Keywords
Congenital rubella syndrome, Genotype, Vaccination
Citation
Tushabe, P., Bwogi, J., Abernathy, E., Birungi, M., Eliku, J. P., Seguya, R., ... & Bakamutumaho, B. (2020). Descriptive epidemiology of rubella disease and associated virus strains in Uganda. Journal of Medical Virology, 92(3), 279-287. DOI: 10.1002/jmv.25604