seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in urmia, iran

Background: toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasitic protozoan, capable of infecting a wide range of warm-blooded hosts, including humans. infection with t. gondii can be life threatening in immunocompromised people. moreover, infection with t. gondii during pregnancy can lead to severe problems for fetus. objectives: this study was performed to evaluate the seroepidemiological status of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in urmia, iran. materials and methods: in this cross-sectional study, a total of 156 serum samples were selected randomly from pregnant females and their anti-toxoplasma igg and igm antibodies were screened using routine commercial elisa kits. the probable risk factors related to toxoplasmosis were asked and collected in pregnant women of urmia. results: of the 156 sera, 44 were positive for t. gondii igg antibodies and 112 were negative. the mean age of women was 19.68 and the rate of igm-positive cases for t. gondii infection was 2.6%. conclusions: according to our study, toxoplasma regular screening program in pregnant women is strongly recommended, since a considerable number of pregnantwomenin our area are susceptible to infection with acute t. gondii over the course of pregnancy.