Evaluation of Antibodies against Rubella Virus in a Mass Campaign Vaccination in Tehran, Iran

Vaccine is available, but fetal infection with rubella virus is still a main cause of congenital birth defects and mental retardation in many countries. Mass vaccination campaigns and Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI) have increased vaccine coverage in the world with a substantial impact on the reduction of rubella infections, such as Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS). The present study was performed to evaluate the immune status against rubella before and after the mass campaign vaccination on 22 Dec. 2003. A total of 320 sera samples collected from the healthy subjects before (group a) and after the vaccination (group b) as well as 80 paired sera (group c) collected from other target group as a panel were tested for the presence of anti-rubella antibody using HI test. Following the mass campaign vaccination 98.1% of the population has anti -rubella antibody, whereas 92.2% were positive before the vaccination. In group c (the paired examined subjects) 98.75% have gained anti -rubella antibody. Seronegative individuals were considered as high-risk members, which must be vaccinated again.