ABSTRACT

Aim:

Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella, and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections still pose high risks in pregnancy due to their ability to induce severe intrauterine infections, congenital malformations, abortion and stillbirth. The present study was carried out to define the population susceptible to T. gondii, Rubella, CMV infections among women of childbearing age.

Methods:

Sera from women older than 18 and younger than 45 years sent to Microbiology laboratory from various polyclinics between January and July 2008 were screened for Toxoplasma, CMV, and Rubella IgG antibodies using multi-parameter immunoenzymetic system test kits (Diasse Diagnostica, Chorus, Italy) according to the manufacturer`s instructions.

Results:

Of the 411 sera tested for Toxoplasma IgG, 137 (33.3%) were positive, 367 (63.8%) were negative and 12 (2.9%) were in the gray zone. Rubella IgG antibodies were investigated in 367 sera and of these 350 (95.4%) were positive, 9 (2.4%) were negative, and 8 (2.2%) were in the gray zone. CMV IgG antibodies were present in 271 (98.2%) of 276 sera. These results indicate that 63.8% of the women included to the study were susceptible to toxoplasma, 2.4% were susceptible to rubella and 1.8% were susceptible to CMV infections.

Conclusion:

In our community, a significant number of women of childbearing age are not immune to toxoplasma and therefore susceptible to acute infection in pregnancy, but most of them have immunity against rubella and CMV.