:: Volume 20, Issue 3 (11-2012) ::
Journal of Ilam University of Medical Sciences 2012, 20(3): 55-62 Back to browse issues page
Sero-epidemiology of Toxoplasma Infection in PregnantWomen Referred to Al Zahra Hospital in Tabriz
A Dalimiasl * 1, M Arshad
1- , dalimi_a@modares.ac.ir
Abstract:   (26076 Views)
Introduction: Immunity to Toxoplasma gondii infection is known to be a critical point for women during pregnancy. Non immune pregnant women may at risk to be infected with the parasite. The par-asite can be transmitted via placenta and causes adverse effects in fetus. The main objective of the present work was to study sero-epidemiology of Toxopla-sma infection in pregnant women refer-red to Al Zahra hospital in Tabriz. Materials & Methods: Totally 300 blood samples were collected from 18-35 years pregnant women referred to Al-Zahra hospital in Tabriz during one year. The sera were tested for IgG and IgM titration with ELISA kits. In addition, demographic cha-racteristics of the women were obtained through appropriate questionnaires. Findings: Positive IgG and IgM titers were identified in the sera of 26.33% and 0.33% of the pregnant women, res-pectively. The higher frequency of positive titers was associated with older age. In addition, 97.46% of the women with positive titer had a history of contact with cats. Discussion & Conclusion: Regarding the prevalence rate of 73.33% in non-imm-une pregnant women in Tabriz, the preventive measurements in nutrition and contact with cats should be cons-idered by the women. We recommend the sera of the pregnant women should be monitored for Toxoplasma infection at least once a year, particularly during the first trimesters of pregnancy.
Keywords: toxoplasma gondii, IgG, IgM, pregnant women, Tabriz
Full-Text [PDF 267 kb]   (4473 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Research | Subject: medical parasitology
Received: 2012/11/20 | Accepted: 2013/03/12 | Published: 2013/03/12


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Volume 20, Issue 3 (11-2012) Back to browse issues page