Seroepidemiology of rubella in northern Greece

In light of two rubella outbreaks in northern Greece during the last decade (1993 and 1999) and periodic changes to the immunization strategy, the present study was conducted to determine the current status of rubella immunity in this region. Among the 729 subjects studied the total vaccination rate was 30.4% and the seroprevalence rate was 82.4% (odds ratio, 0.618; 95% confidence interval, 0.415-0.921). A higher seroprevalence (83.2%) was observed among people born before 1989, when the national rubella immunization program was introduced, compared to the individuals born after 1989 (67.1%; P=0.000). Among women of reproductive age (i.e. 16-40 years), who represented 69.6% of the study population, 10.3% were susceptible to rubella and only 16.4% were vaccinated. The results indicate a comprehensive policy is still needed in order to eliminate rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in Greece.