The immunity status of the rural pregnant women in Chaharmahal and Bakhtyari province against Toxoplasma infection, 2001-2002

In the recent years Toxoplasma gondii has been increasingly recognized as an important pathogen of humans. It is one of the most common causes of latent infection in humans throughout the world. If primary Toxoplasma infection is acquired during pregnancy, the organism may be transmitted to the fetus. So, of importance is the prevalence of antibody in pregnant women. The aim of this study was to find the immunity status of rural pregnant women against Toxoplasma infection. The present study was carried out on 394 serum samples collected from the rural pregnant women aged 15-45 years, in Chaharmahal and Bakhtyari province, using Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test (IFAT). The correlation between Toxoplasma infection and some variables such as age, delivery grade, the history of abortion and stillbirth, malformations of the newborn infant, location and food habits of the subjects, and direct contact of the women to cats was also investigated. The prevalence rate of total anti- Toxoplasma antibodies in the women was 27.4% and the titers ranged between 1.50-1.1600. There were not any classes of acute phase antibodies, IgM and IgA in the sera. Although there was no correlation between Toxoplasma infection and the mentioned variables, there was a significant correlation between Toxoplasma infection and raw vegetable consumption by the women (P<0.05). Because majority of the rural pregnant women lacked any anti- Toxoplasma antibodies and may be at risk of acute primary Toxoplasma infection in further pregnancies, the health policies should be directed toward the improvement of awareness of pregnant women about Toxoplasma infection and the routes of transmission. Moreover, the health programs should be designed to determine the status of immunity against Toxoplasma among women in gestation period through a serological surveillance program to prevent or diminish the complications of congenital toxoplasmosis in the affected fetuses.