title: Detection of Toxoplasma gondii DNA and specific antibodies in high-risk pregnant women.
abstract: Primary maternal infection with toxoplasmosis during pregnancy is frequently associated with transplacental transmission to the fetus. This study was conducted to test the utility of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to detect recent infections with Toxoplasma in pregnant women. One hundred forty-eight women with high-risk pregnancies who had abnormal pregnancy outcomes (cases) and 100 with normal pregnancies (controls) were tested for the presence of Toxoplasma DNA in their blood by a nested PCR and specific antibodies to Toxoplasma by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The IgG results of the cases differed significantly from those of the controls (54% and 12%, respectively; P < 0.02). Four (2.7%) of the cases were IgM positive, but none of the controls were positive. Detection of Toxoplasma DNA in 20 (8.1%) of the IgG-positive cases suggests a recent infection. The risk factors associated with the infection were eating raw meat and contact with soil. The diagnostic serology of recent infection in early pregnancy could be confirmed by a positive Toxoplasma-specific PCR result in blood samples collected in the first half of pregnancy, even in the presence of serologic results difficult to interpret due to the lack of sequential follow-up during pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan. nimri@just.edu.jo
authors.forename: Laila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nimri
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pelloux
authors.forename: Layla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Elkhatib
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M