Toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in Crete.
In Greece there are no official recommendations concerning the management of pregnant women for the prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis. A protocol for monitoring pregnant women was designed in order to differentiate between acute and latent toxoplasmosis and was tested successfully for 7 years. The maternofetal transmission rate in Crete was assessed and a map showing seroprevalence of pregnant women in all prefectures of Greece was prepared. The high seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Greece (up to 46% in some areas) may be explained by: (a) the presence of a great number of stray cats; (b) the Greek diet consisting of large amounts of raw, wild vegetables and salads that could easily be contaminated with oocysts; (c) the high consumption of meat, smoked pork and sausages, well-documented sources of T. gondii infection. T. gondii genotypes were characterized, directly from clinical samples, after PCR-RFLP on the SAG2 gene and sequence analysis at the restriction sites. They belonged to all 3 clonal lineages.
Antoniou
M
M
Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology, Parasitology, Zoonoses and Geographical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, 71003 Greece. antoniou@med.uoc.gr
Tzouvali
H
H
Sifakis
S
S
Galanakis
E
E
Georgopoulou
E
E
Tselentis
Y
Y
D000208:Acute Disease; D000649:Amniocentesis; D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002415:Cats / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D016266:Food Parasitology; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008460:Meat / Q000469:parasitology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012306:Risk; D012377:Rodentia / Q000469:parasitology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D015572:Spiramycin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014122:Toxoplasma; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D014125:Toxoplasmosis, Congenital / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control
D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D015572:Spiramycin