Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in Korean pregnant women

The apicomplexan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, is a globally distributed obligate protozoan, which can infect the central nervous system of warm-blooded animals, including humans. Toxoplasmosis is normally asymptomatic in immunocompetent individuals. However, T. gondii infection, when acquired during pregnancy, can lead to fetal infection, which may ultimately result in the loss of the fetus, or in lesions which normally involve the brain and eyes The risk of maternal fetal transmission of infection increases with gestational age at the time of exposure, whereas the incidence of severe disease decreases The frequency of severe congenital infections can be limited by the early screening of pregnant women (Florence et al., 1999). Prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis in pregnant women has been based mainly on serological tests for anti-Toxoplasma antibodies. Many serological tests, including the haemagglutination test, latex agglutination test (LAT), ELISA, and indirect fluorescence antibody test, have been utilized in the detection of antibodies against T. gondii. There have been several reports regarding the screening of anti-T. gondii antibodies among Koreans. Ryu et al. (1996) demonstrated 4.3% and 0.94% of positive rates, using ELISA and LAT kits among pregnant women who visited medical institutes in Yangpyong-gun and Kwangju-gun of Kyonggi-do. However, infection should be diagnosed at the early acute stage, when