INVESTIGATION OF VIRAL PATHOGENS DURING PREGNANCY IN A CITY REGION IN TURKEY

Abstract: Rubella virus, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Herpes simplex virus (HSV)-ІІ are the infectious agents which may cause congenital malformations in the fetus if acquired during pregnancy. Thus these agents must be screened throughout pregnancy. This screening is also important to demonstrate the regional status regarding these agents. In this study; it is aimed to evaluate the seroprevalance of Rubella, CMV and HSV-ІІ in pregnant women in a city region in Turkey. A total of 249 pregnant women who applied to the outpatient clinics of the obstetric and gynaecological department of a university hospital were involved to the study during antenatal screening in the first trimester of pregnancy. After separation of blood sample sera samples were tested for antibodies to Rubella, CMV and HSV-ІІ. While Rubella and CMV antibodies were tested using Enzyme Linked Floeresan Antibody method, HSV-ІІ was tested using ELISA. The mean age of the participants in this study was 28.4 + 3.4 years. The seropositivity for anti-Rubella IgM, anti-Rubella IgG, anti-CMV IgM, anti-CMV IgG, anti-HSV-ІІ IgM, and anti-HSV-ІІ IgG were 0.4%, 95.9%, 0%, 98.7%, 0%, 4.4%, respectively. Although the seropositivity of HSV- ІІ was very low, seropositivities of Rubella and CMV were very high in our area of investigation. Viruses causing congenital infection and malformation must be screened in pregnant women individually and avidity tests must be applied in suspicious cases. In addition the seroprevelance of these viral infections should be known in every population in order to take preventive measures and prepare local and general health policies. (Anatol J Clin Investig 2011:5(2):78-81). Key words : Pregnancy, rubella antibody, Cytomegalovirus, Herpes Simplex. Ozet Kizamikcik virus, sitomegalovirus (CMV) ve Herpes simpleks virusu (HSV)-ІІ gebelik sirasinda edinildiginde fetusta konjenital malformasyonlara neden olabilen enfeksiyoz ajanlardir. Bundan dolayi bu ajanlar gebelik boyunca takip edilmelidir. Bu tarama bu ajanlar ile ilgili bolgesel durumu gostermek icin de onemlidir. Bu calismada; Turkiye’de bir sehir bolgesindeki gebelerde kizamikcik, CMV ve HSV- ІІ seroprevalansinin degerlendirilmesi hedeflenmektedir. Bir universite hastanesinin obstetrik ve jinekolojik bolumunun poliklinigine basvuran toplam 249 gebe kadin gebeligin ilk trimesterinde dogum oncesi tarama sirasinda calismaya dahil edildi. Alinan kan orneginin ayrilmasindan sonra serum ornekleri kizamikcik. CMV ve HSV-II antikorlari acisindan test edildi. Kizamikcik ve CMV antikorlari Enzim Iliskili Floeresan Antikor yontemi kullanilarak test edilirken HSV-ІІ ELISA ile test edildi. Calismaya katilanlarin yas ortalamasi 28.4 + 3.4 yil idi. Sirasiyla anti-Rubella IgM, anti-Rubella IgG, anti-CMV IgM, anti-CMV IgG, anti-HSV-ІІ IgM ve anti-HSV-ІІ IgG seropozitivitesi %0.4, %95.9, %0, %98.7, %0 ve %4.4 bulundu. Arastirma bolgemizde anti HSV-ІІ seropozitivitesi cok dusuk olmasina ragmen, kizamikcik ve CMV cok yuksekti. Konjenital enfeksiyon ve malformasyona neden olan virusler hamile kadinlarda bireysel olarak taranmalidir ve supheli vakalarda avidite testleri uygulanmalidir. Ayrica bu viral enfeksiyonlarin seroprevalansinin her toplumda onleyici tedbirler almak ve yerel ve genel saglik politikalari hazirlamak amaciyla bilinmesi gerekir . (Anatol J Clin Investig 2011:5(2):78-81). Anahtar kelimeler: Gebelik, rubella antikoru, Sitomegalovirus, Herpes simpleks.