title: Seroepidemiology of toxoplasma gondii infection in women with first trimester spontaneous miscarriage in qena governorate, egypt.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To determine seroprevalence and risks factors for T. gondii in women with early miscarriage, Sera of 76 women were analyzed infection by indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Seropositive cases were further examined histopathologically for evidence of Toxoplasma gondii organisms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Demographic data were obtained from participants to gather information on risk factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Of 76 women with spontaneous abortion screened for Toxoplasma-specific IgG and IgM antibodies with ELISA, 35 were IgG seropositive, of which, 14 samples were IgM seropositive. Therefore, seropositivity rates of 46.1% (95% CI: 35.1%, 57.3%), and 18.4% (95% CI: 10.89%, 28.32%) for IgG and IgM, respectively were found. These indicate that, 27.6 % (21 cases) of studied women (IgG+/IgM-) were immune to toxoplasmosis and 53.94 %(41 cases) were susceptible to primary infection (IgG-/IgM-). Mean while acute toxoplasmosis (IgG+/IgM+) was 18.4 %( 14 cases) with one case (1.3%) confirmed for recent infection as she had Tachyzoites on histopathology study. On the basis of multivariate logistic regression, living in a rural area was found to be the only independent predictor of toxoplasmosis (OR=3.800, CI= 1.100-10.813, p=0.034).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in women with first trimester abortion in Qena governorate of Egypt is high. Pregnant women living in rural area are at a higher risk for acquiring infection during pregnancy. Antenatal screening of pregnant women and educational program about risks for Toxoplasmosis in rural areas is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University , Qena 83523, Egypt .
authors.forename: Abdelaziz E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Tammam
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology & Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University , Qena 83523, Egypt .
authors.forename: Mohie A M
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Haridy
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University , Qena 83523, Egypt .
authors.forename: Ahmed H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Abdellah
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University , Egypt .
authors.forename: Salah Roshdy
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical & Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University , Qena 83523, Egypt .
authors.forename: Hanan M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Fayed
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Qassim University ,College of Medicine , Buraidah, KSA .
authors.forename: Mohamed Alkhatim
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Alsammani
keywords: Abortion; Egypt; Epidemiology; Immune response; Pregnancy; Toxoplasmosis