Causal association of Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity with adverse pregnancy outcome(s) in Iraqi women, a cat-based dilemma
Lames Husam Almansee A Lkanaa, Ali Mansoor Jasim and Raed Hamzah Mohammed
Toxoplasmosis is a common chronic parasitic disease in which cat plays a crucial role as the natural final host. The current study represents a cross sectional survey, done during September through November 2011, involved data collection from different cities in Iraq including Kerbala, Najaf, Babylon, Baghdad, Mosul, Duhok, Tikrit and Diyala. The aims of the present study were to assess seroprevalences of specific antibodies (IgG and IgM) against Toxoplasma gondii in serum samples from women with previous adverse pregnancy outcome measured by ELISA or agglutination tests. Furthermore, to predict if there is any significant association between this seropositivity and adverse pregnancy outcome by comparing it with a control group.
Data were collected retrospectively and randomly depending on health resources' record system from the areas included in this study. We compare Toxoplasma seropositivity for 2870 women with previous adverse pregnancy outcome(s) with that for 1318 women without such complications. The results showed that there was no significant association between seropositivity and adverse pregnancy outcome(s), p-value= 1.0232. It was concluded that there is no significant difference between seropositivity for Toxoplasma in women with adverse pregnancy outcomes compared to those with otherwise normal pregnancy. Therefore, it is recommended to seek for another reinforcing diagnostic parameter in evaluating such patients. Furthermore, population-based studies of newborns would be helpful to accurately estimate incidence of transplacentally transmitted toxoplasmosis.
Lames Husam Almansee A Lkanaa, Ali Mansoor Jasim, Raed Hamzah Mohammed. Causal association of Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity with adverse pregnancy outcome(s) in Iraqi women, a cat-based dilemma. J Entomol Zool Stud 2018;6(2):1812-1815.