title: Toxoplasmosis and habitual abortion.
abstract: We set out to determine the role of toxoplasmosis, detected by serological tests, in habitual abortion. A total of 280 pregnant women aged 15-46 years with parity ranged from 0-9 were studied prospectively between January 2000 and May 2001 at King Hussein Medical Center. Analyses for IgG and IgM anti-toxoplasma were carried out using indirect fluorescent antibody assay (IFAT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Titres of the order of 1:16-1:2048 were considered positive. According to the results, women were divided into two groups; seropositive (n=132) and seronegative (n=148). One hundred and thirty-two (47.1%) pregnant women showed seropositivity to IgG anti-toxoplasma; of them, two (1.5%) developed IgM anti-toxoplasma during the second trimester. A statistically significant increase in the rate of seropositivity to toxoplasma with increasing age and parity was found (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the rate of habitual abortion between seropositive and seronegative women. The seropositivity was higher among women living in rural areas (P<0.02), who are using rainwater to drink (P<0.02), ingesting undercooked meat (P<0.001) and who have contact with soil (P<0.02). Toxoplasma antibodies detected by positive serological tests tend to be higher with increased age and parity. It seems that they have no role in habitual abortion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Royal Medical Services, Irbid-Aidun, PO Box 97, Amman, Jordan. hqublan@hotmail.com
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Qublan
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jumaian
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abu-Salem
authors.forename: F Y
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Hamadelil
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mashagbeh
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abdel-Ghani
mesh_terms: D000026:Abortion, Habitual / Q000209:etiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis; D012698:Serologic Tests; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan