Seroepidemiological assessment of toxoplasmosis in women with and without abortion history in Ilam

Toxoplasmosis is a world wide parasitic disease infecting human by Oocyst, tissue cyst or tachyzoites in raw meat, water or congenitally during pregnancy. Toxoplasmosis can cause abortion in pregnant women. The current seroepidemiological study was designed to assess toxoplasmosis in pregnant women with or without the history of abortion. In a case–control study the antibody titer to toxoplasmosis in 122 pregnant women admitted to hospitals in Ilam were analyzed using ELISA. 63 individual (51.7%) who had history of repeated abortion were placed in case and 59 (48.3%) with no history of abortion as control group. A questionnaire was completed for each person included in the study. 66.7 % of those in case group was IgG positive while only 45.8% in control group showed IgG titer above the cut off. 55.6 % of patients in case group and only 3.4 % in control group were IgM positive. The difference between IgG and IgM titer in case and control group was statistically significant (P=0.02 and P=0.001, respectively). The correlation between frequency of abortion and mean antibody titer was statistically significant for IgM(P=0.001) and IgG (P= 0.003). There was a significant correlation between the meat cooking method and IgM and IgG antibody titer against toxoplasma (P=0.03). Toxoplasmosis is one of the most important zoonotic diseases causing abortion during pregnancy, particularly in Ilam where agriculture and farming are most commonly practiced. Seroepidemiologic assessment can help to detect and manage the disease in pregnant women.