Seroprevalence of eight viruses and pertussis in pregnant women at a regional hospital in Japan in 2022: Comparison with previous studies

Abstract

This study evaluated the prevalence of antibodies against eight viruses and pertussis in the serum collected from 191 pregnant women in 2022. Serum IgG antibodies against the following viruses and pertussis toxin (PT) were measured: measles virus (MV), rubella virus (RV), mumps virus (MuV), varicella–zoster virus (VZV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), and human parvovirus B19 (PVB19). Infection history and immunization status were simultaneously obtained using a survey questionnaire for vaccine-preventable diseases of measles, rubella, mumps, varicella, and pertussis. Our results were compared with those of our previous studies using umbilical cord blood samples in 2001–2002 and 2013 for eight viruses and a 2016–2018 study for pertussis. Seroprevalence data in 2022 were 88.5% for MV; 86.4% for RV; 46.1% for MuV; 91.1% for VZV; 47.6% for HSV; 61.3% for CMV; 93.7% for EBV; 69.6% for PVB19 and 63.4% for PT. The seroprevalence of all diseases, except for PVB19 and pertussis, continued to decline over time. The mean IgG antibody titers were significantly lower and the vaccination coverage rates were significantly higher in four vaccine-preventable viral diseases than previous results. Thus, trends in seroprevalence status for these pathogens should be monitored in pregnant women.