Seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus and rubella among pregnant women in western Sudan

Background: Maternal cytomegalovirus (CMV) and rubella infections have adverse neonatal outcomes. Basic epidemiological data concerning CMV and rubella is necessary for health planners and care providers. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at El-Rahad hospital, Sudan to investigate seroprevalence of CMV and rubella infections and associated possible risk factors among pregnant women. Structured questionnaires were used to gather socio-demographic data and ELISA was used to detect CMV and rubella infections using IgG and IgM. Results: Out of 231 pregnant women, 167 (72.2%) and 151 (65.3%) were CMV-IgG and rubella-IgG positive, respectively. Only 6 (2.5%) and 8 women (3.4%) were CMV-IgM and rubella-IgM positive, respectively. While, high parity (OR = 14.7, 95% CI = 1.7 -123.6; P = 0.01] and illiteracy (OR = 3.0, CI = 1.4 -6.5; P = 0.004) were significantly associated with seropostive CMV-IgG in multivariate analysis, none of the other obstetrical and medical characteristics were significantly associated with CMV or rubella infections. Conclusion: CMV prevalence was 72.2% and rubella susceptibility among pregnant women was 34.6%. Rubella vaccine and routine screening for rubella and CMV should be introduced for pregnant women in this setting. Further research is needed.