The investigation of congenital toxoplasmosis in a tertiary care hospital in Turkey.
OBJECTIVE
To elucidate the prevalence of congenital toxoplasmosis in Turkey.


METHODS
This study was conducted in the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey during the period of 2006 and 2007. Venous blood before delivery and cord blood during delivery were collected from 138 women, and we observed the presence of immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgM antibodies by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay (ELISA), western blotting, and other serologic tests.


RESULTS
The combination of ELISA and western blotting have the greatest sensitivity among the serological techniques used. The results of the cord and venous sera were comparable with no significant difference, except for one sample.


CONCLUSIONS
Data obtained showed that early characterization of IgG antibodies synthesized by congenitally infected newborn is important. This preliminary study sets an example to the studies that would help both in determining the incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis by screening larger populations and in preventing sequels by early diagnosis.
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey. guldensonmez@hotmail.com
Gulden S
GS
Tamer
Aysegul
A
Yolasigmaz
Sema
S
Ertug
Nazmiye
N
Altintas
D000328:Adult; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000276:immunology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D014125:Toxoplasmosis, Congenital / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014421:Turkey
D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M