Molecular detection of Rubella virus (1E genotype) in clinical sample of pregnant women, and it’s related to abortion

Pregnant women who have rubella may potentially pass the infection on to their unborn offspring. A congenital rubella infection can result in a miscarriage, stillbirth, and congenital rubella syndrome. The only member of the Togaviridae family’s Rubivirus genus, the Rubella virus (RV) is a positive-polarity, single-stranded RNA virus genome surrounded by a lipoprotein envelope with spike-like, hemagglutinin-containing surface projections.The objective: to determine the Rubella virus (1E genotype) in pregnant woman and its relation to spontaneous miscarriage.Materials and methods. A total of 174 women which visited Al-Elweya Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, were screened according to the following criteria: women with a history of spontaneous abortion, women with recurrent pregnancy loss (recurrent miscarriages), and women without pregnancy loss, who were included in the serological control group. The age of the women infected with RV ranged from 17 to 45 years. Two methods were used to detect RV: serological tests (IgM and IgG to RV antigens) and molecular diagnostics (detection of RV strains by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction).Results. It was found that 55 women had spontaneous abortions. In the age group 25–29 years, a significant increase (p ≤ 0.05) in cases of suspected RV infection was determined (33.33%) compared to other groups. In the same age group, a significant increased number of women who had a miscarriage (23.64%) was observed compared to other age groups. IgM and IgG levels to RV antigens were significantly increased (p ≤ 0.01) in 32.95% of patients in the same age group. In this study, 23 women had recurrent miscarriages. Among women 25–29 years old, recurrent miscarriages occurred in 26.09%. Among all examined patients in 10 women fetal malformations were diagnosed.Conclusions. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the enzyme immunoassay test for RV identification were lower than those using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction method for RV detection, and total IgM antibody levels were more prevalent in patients who had experienced miscarriage. In addition, this study demonstrated the high incidence of rubella caused by genotype 1E and its association with miscarriage.