Antenatal detection of IgM and IgG antibodies toToxoplasma gondiiin a hospital from central India

Context: Toxoplasma gondii, the causative agent of toxoplasmosis can cause significant morbidity and mortality in the developing fetus if the mother acquires acute infection during pregnancy. Transmission rate to the fetus increases from 15-65% with increasing gestational age. However, the severity of congenital disease decreases with increasing gestational age. Aims: To study the seroprevalance of Toxoplasma gondii in central India. Subjects and Methods: A total of 68 pregnant women between gestational age of 24-36 weeks were included in this prospective study during July to December 2013. All were attended at the antenatal clinic of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and most of them belonged to rural areas. Samples were collected and antibodies for Toxoplasma gondii were detected by using commercial ELISA kit from Calbiotech Inc, USA. Results: In our study, 14 (20.58%) out of 68 pregnant women were positive for toxoplasma IgG antibodies and 19 (27.94%) out of 68 were positive for IgM antibodies. However, only two i.e. 2.94% were both IgM and IgG positive. Acute infection during pregnancy was diagnosed if IgM positivity is there. Conclusions: Our study recommended that pregnant women should be screened and educated concerning the risk factors that contribute to toxoplasma infections and the importance of taking preventive measures.