scholarly journals Results of the Toxoplasmosis Screening in 9311 Pregnant Women in a Tertiary Center in Turkey

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 332-338
Author(s):  
Özgür Koçak ◽  
Özgür Kan
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Tertiary Hospital ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Central Anatolia ◽  
Confirmatory Test ◽  
Serological Examination ◽  
Tertiary Center ◽  
Avidity Test

Introduction: Toxoplasma gondii is an important parasite that can cause permanent sequelae to the fetus when infected during pregnancy in humans. Although the frequency of this parasite varies widely between countries, it is known that it is common in our country. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of toxoplasma in pregnant women admitted to a tertiary hospital in central Anatolia and to evaluate the pregnancy outcomes together with seroprevalence. Materials and Methods: A total of 9311 patients admitted to a tertiary hospital between January 2016 and December 2018 were included into the study. After serological examination, avidity test was performed in cases suggestive of acute infection. Amniocentesis was recommended to be performed by Polimeraze Chain Reaction (PCR) in patients with low avidity. Results: The frequency of Toxoplasma immunoglobulin (Ig) G and M seropositivity rates were 20.3% and 0.28%, respectively. Low avidity was found in approximately 27% of the patients with IgM positivity, and only 15.4% had low avidity by confirmatory test. One patient could not be reached during follow-up. PCR was performed in 4 patients whose low avidity value was confirmed by re-tests and all of their PCR results were reported negative. No cases of congenital toxoplasmosis were detected during the 3 years in our clinic. Conclusion: The inclusion of toxoplasma in routine screening programme is still controversial and differs between countries. Screening in areas with a high rate of toxoplasma, such as in our country, may be rational. If infection is detected, treatment may be recommended because it may reduce the transmission to the fetus.

scholarly journals Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in Vojvodina

2010 ◽  
Vol 138 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 333-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Snezana Brkic ◽  
Gorana Gajski ◽  
Mirjana Bogavac ◽  
Daniela Maric ◽  
Vesna Turkulov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
General Population ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Female Population ◽  
Effective Measure ◽  
Female Patients

Introduction Toxoplasmosis is an acute infectious anthropozoonotic disease with mild asymptomatic clinical manifestations in immunocompetent persons and more severe in immunocompromised patients. Acute infection in pregnancy can result in severe congenital toxoplasmosis with severe sequels. Objective Aims of study were to detect Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in general population of Vojvodina, Serbia, differences between genders and determination of seroprevalence in women of reproductive age and pregnant women. Methods Our retrospective study was conducted from 2006 to 2008 including 625 immunocompetent patients, hospitalized or observed as outpatients at the Clinical Centre of Vojvodina, Novi Sad. We performed commercial ELISA kits SERION - ELISA classic test by VIRION for the presence of specific IgG and IgM antibodies. According to seroepidemiological aim of the study, our results were presented only in qualitative values. Results We observed 173 male and 452 female patients. Seroprevalence in general population of Vojvodina was 38.1%. In male population seroprevalence was 45.7%, and in female population it was 35.2%, the difference which was statistically significant (p<0.05). Seroprevalence increased with age and seroconversion was detected to occur in persons aged about 20 years. In all female patients, 353 (78.1%) were in reproductive age with seroprevalence of 30%. In 161 pregnant women seroprevalence was 31.7%. Conclusion In this study we screened actual seroepidemiological situation to Toxoplasma gondii in Vojvodina, thus giving a contribution to the continuous epidemiological screening done in this region and in the country. According to our results, almost 70% of women in reproductive age were sensitive to primary acute infection during further pregnancies, which is highly important for the prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis. Although not routinely conducted in many countries, routine serological testing to Toxoplasma gondii in pregnant women and their education about preventive measures against this infection could be an effective measure in the future.

scholarly journals Reliability of Immunoglobulin G Antitoxoplasma Avidity Test and Effects of Treatment on Avidity Indexes of Infants and Pregnant Women

2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Flori ◽  
Laetitia Tardy ◽  
Hugues Patural ◽  
Bahrie Bellete ◽  
Marie-Noëlle Varlet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Immunoglobulin G ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Congenital Infection ◽  
Test Sample ◽  
Term Therapy ◽  
Duration Of Treatment ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Avidity Test ◽  
Group 5

ABSTRACT The immunoglobulin G antitoxoplasma avidity test (Vidas; BioMérieux) is an immunoenzymatic test useful for excluding acute infection after the onset of pregnancy. The avidity index (AI) is the ratio of the signal in a test sample washed with urea, which disrupts low-avidity complexes, to that washed without urea. An AI of >0.3 is taken to mean that infection had occurred more than 4 months ago. The increase of the AI with time and the influence of the different treatments given to pregnant women and their newborns were evaluated. A total of 59 pregnant women (271 sera) and their 60 neonates (199 sera) were tested from 1998 to 2002. There were five groups of women based on the type and duration of treatment given. Thirteen pregnant women (group 1) did not receive any treatment, 15 (group 2), 11 (group 3), and 17 (group 4) women received treatment with spiramycin (9 MIU/day) for 0.5 to 2, 2.5 to 5, and 5.5 to 8 months, respectively, and the last 3 women (group 5) received tritherapy (pyrimethamine-sulfonamide and spiramycin alternatively) for 1.5 to 2.5 months. All of the maternal sera collected in the first 6 months had an AI of <0.30, with a mean of 0.07 (range, 0.01 to 0.21). The increase was slow (0.02/month), and there was no significant difference when comparisons were made between the treatment groups. Neonates with proven maternofetal transmission had an increasing AI, unlike those without transmission. However, long-term therapy with pyrimethamine-sulfonamide, as opposed to treatment with spiramycin alone, was found to slow down the progression of the AI. An AI of >0.2 is sufficient to exclude acute infection in pregnant women. In neonates, it is not of major use to diagnose congenital infection; however, it could be a good indicator of compliance and efficacy of treatment of infected infants.

Toxoplasma gondiiinfection in pregnant women in China

Parasitology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
X.-J. GAO ◽  
Z.-J. ZHAO ◽  
Z.-H. HE ◽  
T. WANG ◽  
T.-B. YANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Chinese Literature ◽  
Global Analysis ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Case Control Studies

SUMMARYToxoplasmosis, caused by the protozoan parasiteToxoplasma gondii, is one of the most common parasitic infections in humans. Primary infection in pregnant women can be transmitted to the fetus leading to miscarriage or congenital toxoplasmosis. Carefully designed nationwide seroprevalence surveys and case-control studies of risk factors conducted primarily in Europe and America, have shaped our view of the global status of maternal and congenital infection, directing approaches to disease prevention. However, despite encompassing 1 in 5 of the world's population, information is limited on the status of toxoplasmosis in China, partly due to the linguistic inaccessibility of the Chinese literature to the global scientific community. By selection and analysis of studies and data, reported within the last 2 decades in China, this review summarizes and renders accessible a large body of Chinese and other literature and aims to estimate the seroprevalence in Chinese pregnant women. It also reviews the prevalence trends, risk factors, and clinical manifestations. The key findings are (1) the majority of studies show that the overall seroprevalence in Chinese pregnant women is less than 10%, considerably lower than a recently published global analysis; and (2) the few available appropriate studies on maternal acute infection suggested an incidence of 0·3% which is broadly comparable to studies from other countries.

scholarly journals Serodiagnosis of Toxoplasmosis by Using ELISA and IgG Avidity Test in Relation to Some Risk Factors among Women at Childbearing Age in Zakho City, Duhok Province/ Iraq.

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Sarwin Sultan ◽  
Wijdan M. S. Mero
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Maternity Hospital ◽  
Married Women ◽  
Childbearing Age ◽  
Igg Avidity ◽  
Avidity Test ◽  
Hygienic Measures ◽  
The Relationship

This study intended to evaluate the seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies in the sera of 630 women at childbearing age, and to link the outcomes with some risk factors. The enrolled women visited Zakho Maternity Hospital from July 2018 to July 2019. Their ages ranged from 15 to 45 years. All samples were examined using ELISA to detect immunoglobulin G and M, in addition to performing IgG Avidity test for seropositive pregnant women. The differences between seropositivity and age was significant (p<0.05), the highest rate (20.43%) for anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies in the age group 33-38 years. Women who had more contact with cats showed higher IgG and IgM seropositivity rates (16.45% and 1.26%, respectively). Married women had higher IgG Abs seropositivity than single ones (12.52% vs 6.31%, respectively), moreover, only married women were seropositive for IgM Abs. Pregnant women presented higher IgG Abs seropositivity than non-pregnant (15.21% versus 10.49%), with almost equal seropositivity for IgM Abs (0.65% and 0.86%, respectively). Anti-Toxoplasma IgG Abs seropositivity was higher in women underwent miscarriages than those with normal pregnancies (18.44 vs. 8.81%), however IgM Abs was only found among women who had miscarriages (0.97%). Women with triple miscarriages presented the highest IgG Abs seropositivity (37.03%). Chronic infection was found in 68.75% of pregnant women, whereas acute infection was found in 31.25 %. Following up the pregnancy resulted in 15 healthy births, 9 miscarriages, and 10 women did not show up. The findings of this study demonstrate the relationship between toxoplasmosis and risk factors in women at childbearing age, with the aim of decreasing infection rates through the health education and application of hygienic measures.

scholarly journals Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence among pregnant women in Rabat, Morocco

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Majda Laboudi ◽  
Zoubida Taghy ◽  
Oussama Duieb ◽  
François Peyron ◽  
Abderrahim Sadak
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Immunoglobulin M ◽  
Bivariate Analysis ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Seroprevalence Rate ◽  
Recent Infection ◽  
Igg Avidity ◽  
Avidity Test

Abstract Background Toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by a protozoan parasite named Toxoplasma gondii (T.gondii). Pregnant women are considered one of the risk groups. The objective of this retrospective study is to provide an updated estimate of the seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies among a group of Moroccan pregnant women monitored at the Parasitology Laboratory of the National Institute of Hygiene in Rabat in Morocco. Methods Serum samples were tested for the presence of specific anti-T. gondii immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Anti-Toxoplasma IgM- and IgG-positive cases were also evaluated with the anti-Toxoplasma IgG avidity test. All cases were evaluated according to the age, parity, and historical of abortion. Results Among 677 pregnant women, 94.1% (637/677) were serologically screened for the first time and therefore had no knowledge of their serological status, and only 5.9% (40/677) were screened for the second or third time. The overall anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM seropositivity among the 637 pregnant women included in the study analysis was 43% (274/637) and 3.9% (25/637), respectively. The use of the IgG avidity test allowed excluding recent infection among 83% of cases with IgG and IgM positive sera. The mean age was 29.4 ± 6.3 years. The result of the bivariate analysis revealed that the age influenced significantly the seroprevalence rate, while the parity and the existence of previous spontaneous abortion did not have any significant statistical correlation with seropositivity to T. gondii. Conclusion This study shows that 43% of pregnant women were positive and 57% of them had no antibody against the T. gondii infection. However, the pregnancy follow-up and the counseling of pregnant women remain essential for the prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis.

scholarly journals Screening for toxoplasmosis during pregnancy: One-year experience in an Italian reference laboratory

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Meroni ◽  
Francesca Genco
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Reference Laboratory ◽  
Toxoplasma Infection ◽  
Igg Avidity ◽  
Acute Toxoplasmosis ◽  
One Year ◽  
First Time

AIMS: To describe the experience of the Toxoplasmosis Laboratory of Infectious Disease Department University of Pavia, IRCCS Foundation, San Matteo Polyclinic Pavia, a reference laboratory for diagnosis of toxoplasmosis, in the investigation of pregnant women with suspected acute toxoplasmosis. METHODS: All sera were tested with LIAISON® Toxo IgM and IgG II, Toxo IgG Avidity II kits (DiaSorin, Saluggia, Italy), VIDAS Toxo IgG II and Toxo IgG Avidity (bioMérieux, Marcy l’Etoile, France ), IgM ISAGA (bioMérieux, Marcy l’Etoile, France) and ETI-TOXOK-A reverse PLUS (DiaSorin, Saluggia, Italy). When required (IgG negative/IgM positive women), IgG/IgM Western Blot II (LDBio, Lyon, France) was also performed. Prenatal diagnosis on amniotic fluid was done by nested PCR. All newborns were followed up to one year of age in order to exclude or confirm the diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis. All pregnant women with acute or undetermined stages of infection were treated. RESULTS: In the course of 2007, 236 women with suspected acute (IgM-positive) Toxoplasma infection were followed up. In the reference laboratory, 91 women had test results indicating acute toxoplasmosis, and 10 had undetermined status of infection. These 101 patients represented 42.8% of the 236 women referred. Acute toxoplasmosis could be excluded in the remaining 135 patients, of whom 53 were non-immune. Three infected newborns were observed, all from mothers tested for the first time during the third trimester of pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: The role of a reference laboratory in suspected toxoplasmosis acquired during pregnancy is crucial to date the infection and discriminate between seroconversion and false positive anti-Toxoplasma IgM antibodies. This avoids unnecessary anxiety in immune women, provides correct counseling about primary prevention and periodic testing for seronegative ones, and allows early treatment and follow-up of pregnant women with acute infection and their newborns.

scholarly journals Toxoplasma gondii specific IgG avidity assay: Role and implication in the confirmatory diagnosis of acute toxoplasmosis in seropositive pregnant women

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
Chowdhury Rafia Naheen ◽  
Shirin Tarafder ◽  
Humayun Sattar ◽  
Shafinaz Khan
Keyword(s):  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
High Avidity ◽  
Past Infection ◽  
Congenital Transmission ◽  
Avidity Assay ◽  
Igg Avidity ◽  
Avidity Test ◽  
Specific Igg

<p>This study was undertaken to apply<em> Toxoplasma gondii</em> specific IgG avidity test in seropositive pregnant women to differentiate acute and past infection. <em>T. gondii</em> specific IgG avidity test was conducted in 39 seropositive pregnant women and their pregnancy outcomes were observed later on. Out of 39 <em>T. gondii</em> seropositive pregnant women 33 (84%) were only IgG positive and 6 (15.4%) were both IgG-IgM positive. All the IgG positive cases (100%) and 2(33.3%) IgG-IgM positive cases had high avidity antibodies and they gave birth to healthy babies. Rest of the 4 (66.7%) IgG-IgM positive women had low avidity and 50% of them had abortion and 50% gave birth to unhealthy babies. This reveals that the seropositive mothers having high IgG avidity had past infection and no risk of congenital transmission. Seropositive mothers having low IgG avidity had acute infection and so congenital transmission occurred. Presence of<em> T. gondii</em> specific IgG and IgM antibody does not indicate acute infection always. IgG-IgM positive pregnant women should be further evaluated by IgG avidity assay to confirm acute infection.</p><p> </p>

Seroprevalence And Risk Factors of Specific Toxoplasma Gondii Antibody among Pregnant Women

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-139
Author(s):  
Ahmed J. Ahmed ◽  
Bayar K. Zeebaree ◽  
Ramadhan A. Khanamir
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
First Trimester ◽  
Immunoglobulin M ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Igg Antibody

Toxoplasmosis during pregnancy has an adverse effect on pregnant women, fetus and neonatal. The infection is generally asymptomatic but can cause severe effect on the fetus and immunocompromised women. Control study conducted on 77 pregnant women categorized according to the risk factors influencing toxoplasmosis infection. Specific anti Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM were evaluated using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kits. Among 77 pregnant women, (57.1%) women had toxoplasmosis, seropositive for latent infection with specific Toxoplasma gondii immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies were (54.54 %), whereas acute infection immunoglobulin M (IgM) were only in (2.59 %) cases. The seroprevalence of Toxoplasma was higher in older pregnant women (> 60%) than younger ones (<50%). The specific IgG antibody was higher in pregnant women working in farms (65.7 vs 45.23; P=0.053). Also, the seropositive IgG antibody was low in the first trimester and high in rural areas. Pregnant women need to educate more about toxoplasmosis and prevention to exposure in order to reduce the risk of congenital toxoplasmosis.

Performance of a Toxo IgM prototype assay for the diagnosis of maternal and congenital Toxoplasma infections

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (11) ◽  
pp. 1959-1964
Author(s):  
Martine Wallon ◽  
Hélène Fricker-Hidalgo ◽  
Emmanuelle Chapey ◽  
Claire Bailet ◽  
Céline Dard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Chronic Infection ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Maternal Infection ◽  
Uninfected Child ◽  
Maternal Infections ◽  
Residual N

AbstractBackgroundTesting for anti-Toxoplasma immunoglobulin (Ig)M is of main importance in the context of pregnancy to promptly alert to an acute maternal infection prior to the detection of IgG and to identify infected newborns. Their absence helps exclude a recent maternal infection in the presence of IgG.MethodsThe performance of a Toxo IgM immunocapture prototype assay (bioMérieux, France) was compared with that of the VIDAS® Toxo IgM and the ARCHITECT® Toxo IgM (Abbott, Germany) assays at Grenoble and Lyon (France). A total of 1446 sera were sampled from (i) 1054 pregnant women found by routine workup to have no infection (n = 843), an acute infection (<4 months) (n = 28) or a chronic infection (>4 months) with residual (n = 120) or no IgM (n = 62); (ii) 50 three-serum panels sampled immediately after a maternal seroconversion; (iii) 242 samples taken in 41 children with a congenital toxoplasmosis (n = 122) and in 40 uninfected children (n = 120).ResultsIn pregnant women, the overall agreement with the VIDAS® assay was 99.23% (CI: 99.16–99.27) and that with the ARCHITECT® assay was 99.14% (CI: 99.07–99.17). Sensitivity of the Toxo IgM prototype assay was 100% (CI: 87.66–100.00) and specificity was 99.64% (98.96–99.93). In acute maternal infections, IgM assays were detected as early with the prototype as with the other two. In the congenitally infected children, IgM were detected on their first sample in 25/40 with the prototype vs. 23/40 with the VIDAS® test. No uninfected child had positive IgM. ConclusionThe prototype performed comparably to the ARCHITECT® and VIDAS® Toxo IgM assays for the diagnosis of maternal and congenital toxoplasmosis.

The Myometrium in Pregnant Women with Obesity

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-200
Author(s):  
Jorge A. Carvajal ◽  
Joaquín I. Oporto
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Oxytocin Receptor ◽  
High Rate ◽  
K Channel ◽  
Obese Women ◽  
Cesarean Sections ◽  
Cholesterol Levels ◽  
Myometrial Contractility ◽  
Lower Expression

: Obesity is a worldwide public health problem, affecting at least one-third of pregnant women. One of the main problems of obesity during pregnancy is the resulting high rate of cesarean section. The leading cause of this higher frequency of cesarean sections in obese women, compared with that in nonobese women, is an altered myometrial function that leads to lower frequency and potency of contractions. In this article, the disruptions of myometrial myocytes were reviewed in obese women during pregnancy that may explain the dysfunctional labor. The myometrium of obese women exhibited lower expression of connexin43, a lower function of the oxytocin receptor, and higher activity of the potassium channels. Adipokines, such as leptin, visfatin, and apelin, whose concentrations are higher in obese women, decreased myometrial contractility, perhaps by inhibiting the myometrial RhoA/ROCK pathway. The characteristically higher cholesterol levels of obese women alter myometrial myocyte cell membranes, especially the caveolae, inhibiting oxytocin receptor function, and increasing the K+ channel activity. All these changes in the myometrial cells or their environment decrease myometrial contractility, at least partially explaining the higher rate of cesarean of sections in obese women.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document