Seroepidemiology of rubella in pregnant females in Catalonia (Spain).

The seroepidemiological study carried out on a random sample of pregnant females aged between 15 and 45 in Catalonia (Spain) showed that the prevalence of antibodies found in the survey (97.5 +/- 2) varies from that shown by studies performed in continental areas of Europe and North America in the pre-vaccination era (80-90%) and is similar to that currently found in certain continental areas of Asia and Africa (about 95%) where the prevalence of the virus seems to be very high, and in certain industrialized countries which have implemented effective vaccination programmes (95-97%). Although 28.8% of the females surveyed stated that they had been vaccinated against rubella, it has not been possible to find any statistically significant differences as regards the prevalence of antibodies between vaccinated and nonvaccinated females. This suggests that the high prevalence of anti-rubella antibodies shown by the survey is due not so much to the existence of effective vaccination programmes as to the fact that the wild virus is extremely widespread among the Catalonian population, similar to certain continental areas of Asia and Africa.