Volume 25 , Issue 1 , June 2023 , Pages 132-138
Rozhan Hoshyar Abdulla Baban 1 ; Kaya Süer 2 ; Hiewa Othman Dyary 3
1 College of Health Sciences, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
2 Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Near East University, Near East Boulevard, 99138 Nicosia, Turkish Republic of North Cyprus Mersin 10, Turkey
3 Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sulaimani, New Sulaimani, Street 27, Sulaimaniyah 46001, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii and is
generally asymptomatic, affecting almost all organs. Serological techniques are
applicable for diagnosing T. gondii since it is challenging to demonstrate under
the microscope or culture in the laboratory. This study aimed to determine
Toxoplasma seroprevalence in pregnant women at Near East University Hospital
in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) between 2016 and 2018.
Antibodies of Toxoplasma Immunoglobulin M (Toxo IgM) and Toxoplasma
Immunoglobulin G (Toxo IgG) were analyzed in pregnant women
retrospectively by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Toxo IgG
avidity was tested by ELISA in pregnant women to differentiate between acute
and chronic infections. The pregnant women were between 17 and 51 years. Of
the 1348 participants, 572 (42.43%) were from the TRNC, 746 (55.34%) were
from Turkey, and 30 (2.23%) were from other countries. In this study, the
prevalence rates were 1.4% and 12.7% for IgM and IgG among pregnant women.
High Toxo IgG avidities were observed in 75% of the IgM seropositive women.
The study demonstrated that Toxo IgG prevalence rates were low compared to
many countries.