Maternal Serological Screening for Congenital Toxoplasmosis During Pregnancy and Evaluating the Pregnant Women’s Knowledge on Toxoplasmosis in Qazvin, Iran

Abstract

Background: The present study was designed to determine the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii seronegative pregnant women, estimate the frequency of fetuses at risk of congenital toxoplasmosis in the study area, and also to investigate the awareness of the studied mothers about T. gondii disease.Methods: A total of 740 pregnant women referred to two health centers in Qazvin province were surveyed voluntarily for anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). IgG avidity test was used as a confirmatory test for samples showing positive or borderline results for IgM antibodies. Data on socioeconomic, demographic, and knowledge of participants about toxoplasmosis were collected using questionnaires and through face-to-face interviews. Multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to identify the potential predictor variables for T. gondii infection. Results: Overall, 21.2% (157/740) and 0.27% (2/740) of pregnant women were positive for T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies, respectively. Only 1.7% (13/740) of expectant mothers had prior information on toxoplasmosis. Among socioeconomic and demographic variables, contact with soil was the merely cause of a significant association with T. gondii infection. Other variables including age, occupation, education level, residential area, source of drinking water, abortion history, number of childbirth, consumption of raw/undercooked meat, having home cat and and consumption of raw vegetables failed to establish significant associations. Conclusion: Our results clarified that the prevalence of T. gondii has remarkably reduced in the study area. This finding indicates a low risk of congenital toxoplasmosis in this region.