Seroprevalence of igg and igm anti-toxoplasma gondii antibodiesamong Pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at tikur anbessa specialized Hospital, addis ababa, ethiopia

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by T. gondii, an ubiquitous, Apicomplexan single-celled,
obligate intracellular protozoan parasite. T. gondiiinfection during pregnancy represents the risk for
congenital infection and developing cerebral toxoplasmosis for HIV patients. In many countries
including Ethiopia, serological screening is not a routine procedure and there is little information
about toxoplasmosis. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the seroprevalence of T.
gondii infection and related risk factors among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at
TikurAnbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was carried out
among pregnant women who came for their antenatal care follow up at TikurAnbessa Specialized
Hospital from December 1, 2011 to February 1 2012. IgG and IgM antibodies to T.gondii in one
hundred ninety two serum samples of pregnant women were analyzed bycommercially- available
enzyme linked immunoassay technique. Pre-validated structured questionnaire was used to obtain
information on risk factors associated with infection. Out of the one hundred ninety two pregnant
women, 169 (88%) were positive for anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies and none were positive for anti
T.gondii IgM antibodies. The IgG antibody was found in 37/41 (90.2%) HIV infected pregnant
women and 132/151 (87.6%) in HIV uninfected pregnant women, with no statistical significance
(p>0.05). Multivariate analysis using logistic regression showed that T. gondii infection was
associated with consumption of raw vegetables (adjusted OR=4.39; 95% CI: 1.49-12.94),
consumption of raw meat (adjusted OR=3.81; 95% CI: 1.18-12.26) and number of pregnancies
(adjusted OR=3.85; 95% CI: 1.43-10.33). In conclusion, the results of the present study revealed that
the sero-prevalence of latent T. gondii infection was high among pregnant women. HIV-positive and
HIV-negative pregnant women had similar exposure to T. gondii infection. The study also revealed
that consumption of raw meat and raw vegetables was found to be the major risk factorsfor T. gondii
infection. Therefore, burden of T. gondii infection should not be overlooked and educating people to
prevent acquisition of new infection has great importance. Efforts should also be made to minimize
the risk of subsequent reactivation and disease manifestation among HIV-positive pregnant women
with latent Toxoplasma infection.