Comparison of Toxoplasma gondii IgGand IgM Seropositivity between Women with Spontaneous Abortions and Ongoing Pregnancies

Toxoplasma gondii, a member of the Apicomplexa,is an obligatory intracellular parasite. Toxoplasma gondii infection during pregnancy can result in abortion, stillbirth and fetal malformation. Due to the geographic variation in the prevalence of the infection and in order to assess the role of Toxoplasma gondii in abortion in Kerman the present study was carried out. In a case-control design, 57 women whose pregnancy was spontaneously terminated prior to 20th week of gestation and 112 women with their pregnancy beyond 20 weeks, matched for age and were studied in Afzalipour Maternity Center. Blood samples were taken after obtaining informed consent and then sera were tested for anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM using ELISA technique. Data analysis performed by t-test and Chi square using SPSS 17. The seroprevalence of anti-toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies were 30.8% and 3.6%, respectivelyin the whole population studied. The seroprevalence of anti-toxoplasma IgM was not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.40). However, the seroprevalence of anti-toxoplasma IgG was significantly different between abortion and normal pregnancy groups (43.9% and 24.1%, respectively). No significant relationship was observed between anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies and education level, consumption of undercooked meat, unwashed vegetables, and contact with cats. Based on the above results we can conclude that chronic infection of toxoplasmosis implicates in abortion, while acute infection has no role in this regard. However, more investigation is needed.