Seroprevalence of measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella among physicians and nurses in Jordan

Abstract

Background/aim: Measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella can affect susceptible healthcare workers who might subsequently spread the infection to susceptible patients and workers. Here, we aim to determine the seroprevalence of these infections among physicians and nurses and to compare the history of varicella with the results of varicella antibodies among study participants. Materials and methods: Two randomly selected groups, one group of physicians and one of nurses, from a university hospital in Jordan were interviewed and their serum IgG antibodies were measured. Results: The physicians and nurses group had 252 and 241 participants, respectively. The physicians group had significantly more males and younger participants. The percentage of individuals in the physician and nurse groups with positive antibodies to measles was 75.4% and 75.1%, respectively; mumps, 88.5% and 94.2%; rubella, 89.3% and 87.1%; and varicella, 92.1% and 92.5%. Immunity was similar between the 2 groups except for mumps, where significantly more nurses were immune. The positive and negative predictive values for the history of varicella to predict immunity in all participants were 95% and 13.5%, respectively. Conclusion: A small but important proportion of our healthcare workers are still susceptible to measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella. In addition, the recall history to varicella showed suboptimal ability to predict immunity.