Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

Abstract

ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND:
Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the parasitic protozoan Toxoplasma gondii . This parasite is an obligate intracellular organism and is found in two forms in humans. widespread throughout the world, approximately half a billion humans have antibody to T. gondii.
OBJECTIVE:
This study aimed to compare the efficiency of two methods in diagnosis of toxoplasmposis in pregnant and non-pregnant women.
METHODS:
Blood samples were collected from 350 (15-46 year-old, 100 pregnant and 250 non-pregnant) females. Two serological methods were used: Latex agglutination test (LAT) and Enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay for IgM detection (ELISA).
RESULTS:
The study showed that 38.86% of women had given positive results for LAT, of which 31 were pregnant and 105 were non-pregnant, while only 14.28% of the total subjects had given positive results for ELISA.
CONCLUSION:
These results indicate that positive sera for LAT should be further investigate by more reliable method in order to confirm the infection with toxoplasmosis.