Evaluation of Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella virus and Cytomegalovirus Infections in Pregnant Women

Abstract

Primary infection agents occurring during pregnancy and causing congenital anomalies are Toxoplasma gondii (T.gondii), rubella virus and cytomegalovirus (CMV). It was revealed that these agents infected the fetus by crossing the placenta and increased the rate of fetal morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between seroprevalences of T. gondii, rubella virus and CMV antibodies. Methods:The results were retrospectively evaluated. Pregnant women's serum samples sent to the Medical Microbiology Laboratory of Ankara Gülhane Training and Research Hospital between January 2018 and December 2018 were included in this study. T. gondii, rubella virus and CMV IgM and IgG antibodies were analysed using the chemiluminescent immunoassay method.Results: In this study, the results of 647 pregnant patients were retrospectively analysed. The median age of the attendants was 28.0 (18.0-49.0) years. IgM positivities for T. gondii, rubella virus and CMV were found as 3 (0.6%), 3 (0.5%) and 61 (15.0%) respectively and IgG positivities were 66 (13.8%), 529 (91.7%) and 394 (99.3%), respectively. Conclusion:In this study, the results were consistent with the findings obtained in the regional studies. Seroprevalence studies in pregnant women will be guide for the necessity of prenatal screening tests. Therefore, the findings suggest that pregnant women and women of childbearing age should be investigated concerning T. gondii, the rubella virus and CMV antibodies.

Investigation of Toxoplasma Gondii, Rubella virus and Cytomegalovirus Infections in Pregnancy, Retrospective Evaluation of Avidity Tests and Perinatal Follow-up Results

“…Although there are differences between regions in studies conducted in Turkey, generally CMV IgG positivity is over 90%. [11] In our study,CMV IgG positivity was found to be 98.7%.CMV infection is usually asymptomatic and transmissible to the fetus, some suggest that all women of childbearing age should know their CMV serostatus. [21][22][23][24] But on the other hand, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [25] and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, [26] recommend against routine serologic screening for CMV since there is no vaccine is available to prevent infection in seronegative women and in seropositive pregnant women, it is difficult to distinguish between primary infection, reinfection or reactivation and it is also diffucult to determine the time of the infection.…”

“…When we look at the studies conducted in Turkey, it is seen that this rate varies between 18.8% and 68.9% and is lower in the west and north of the country. [11] In the study conducted by Sirin et al between 2014 and 2016 in Izmir, it was stated that this rate was 32.2% and it was emphasized that Toxoplasma IgG positivity varied between 30.3% and 69.5% in studies conducted in Turkey. [10] Toxoplasma IgG positivity was reported as 22% in a study covering 2015-2017 in Bolu and 37.6% in a study covering the years 2012-2013 in Van.…”

“…CMV seroprevalence is closely related to low socioeconomic conditions, low hygiene and crowded living conditions similar to toxoplasma infections. [11] While this rate is generally between 50-60% in developed countries, it is between 90-100% in developing countries. [17][18][19][20] In parallel with these data, this rate was 98.4% for Turkey, 28.3% for Germany and 98.1% for Brazil.…”

“…In similar studies conducted in pregnant women or women of childbearing age in Turkey, Toxoplasma IgM was 0.8-4.0%, Rubella IgM was 0.2-1.3% and CMV IgM was 0.4-3.2% found to be positive. [11,[13][14][15]33,34] In our study, it was thought that the low Toxoplasma IgM positivity rate might be related to the seroprevalence of the infection, the serological method used, and the socioeconomic and geographical characteristics of the region. However, considering that some of the positive IgM results found in all studies were probably false positive, it was concluded that these rates would not fully reflect the truth.…”