Investigation of serological results of patients with suspected toxoplasmosis admitted to the ELISA Laboratory of Uludağ University Hospital between 2002-2008.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to investigate the distribution of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies in patients with suspected toxoplasmosis referred to the Uludağ University Medical School, Department of Medical Microbiology Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) laboratory over a 72-month period (March 2002-December 2008). METHODS The samples were analyzed using VIDAS (BioMérieux, France) IgG-avidity tests and the fluorescent enzyme-linked assay (ELFA) technique. RESULTS Results showed that the prevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM among women (29.2% and 2.02%, respectively) was higher than that of men (21.2% and 1.7%, respectively). The seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG was 30.7% in childbearing-aged women, with rates ranging from 35.8% and 27.4% over the years. Avidity was found to be high, borderline, and lower (81.9%, 10.2%, and 7.9%, respectively) in the fertile age group of 166 women receiving the IgG avidity test. CONCLUSION Although the study data may not reflect our entire province, it virtually turns out that the risk of toxoplasmosis must be seriously taken into account, particularly when approaching some risk groups, such as seronegative women of fertile age, pregnant women, and immunocompromised patients.