Toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in Sanliurfa, Southeastern Anatolia City, Turkey.
Blood samples from 1149 pregnant women (age 26.9 +/- 5.3 years; mean 20 weeks gestation) on their first prenatal visit to Obstetrics and Gynecology Department and analyzed for Toxoplasma-specific immunoglobulin (IgM) and immunoglobulin (IgG) by ELISA. 694 (60.4%) of the women were IgG-positive, indicating previous maternal infection, while 35 (3%) were IgM-positive, indicating recent infection, and 420 (38.9%) were sero-negative. The high sero-positive rate may be linked to traditional raw meat consumption. Treatment with spiramycin was effective in preventing congenital toxoplasmosis in children of sero-positive mothers who consented to treatment.
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Harran, Faculty of Medicine, Sanliurfa, Turkey. mugeharma@superonline.com
Muge
M
Harma
Mehmet
M
Harma
Nese
N
Gungen
Nurettin
N
Demir
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D003049:Coccidiostats / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008460:Meat / Q000469:parasitology; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015572:Spiramycin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000254:growth & development*; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D003049:Coccidiostats; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D015572:Spiramycin