title: Toxoplasmosis: the innocent suspect of pregnancy wastage in Duhok, Iraq.
abstract: To identify the true contribution of toxoplasmosis to fetal loss and bad obstetric history, we tested 310 women, 77.4% of whom had had single or multiple fetal loss, for evidence of infection. The study was conducted in Duhok, northern Iraq, from July 2002 till September 2003. All the women were examined for the presence of toxoplasma-specific IgM antibodies by enzyme-linked immunofluorescent assay; only 3 (0.97%) tested positive. We also tested 187 of the women by latex agglutination test; 55 tested positive. Histopathological examination was done for 9 pregnant women who tested positive by the latex agglutination test but we found no evidence of toxoplasma infection. The results indicate that the contribution of toxoplasmosis to fetal loss in our region is greatly overestimated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Duhok, Iraq. ala_hani@yahoo.com
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Razzak
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wais
authors.forename: A Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Saeid
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000469:parasitology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D015982:Bias; D015984:Causality; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D046689:Fetal Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D007493:Iraq / Q000453:epidemiology; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D010920:Placenta / Q000469:parasitology; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D014125:Toxoplasmosis, Congenital / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D007075:Immunoglobulin M