Serological Evaluation and Molecular Genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii in Pregnant Women in Meshkin-Shahr District,  Northwestern Iran

Shabnam  Asfaram; Zabih  Zarei; Roghayeh  Teimoorpour; Zahra  Heidari; Sohrab  Iranpour; Payman  Azghani; Seyed Eghbal  Motavallibashi; Zahra  Rakhshidan; Zahra  Khademi; Behnam  Mohammadi-Ghalehbin; Shahram  Habibzadeh; Soheila  Molaei

doi:10.18502/ijpa.v20i1.18104

Shabnam Asfaram Zoonoses Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Zabih Zarei Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Roghayeh Teimoorpour Department of Medical Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Zahra Heidari Department of Medical Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Sohrab Iranpour Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Payman Azghani Department of Medical Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Seyed Eghbal Motavallibashi Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Zahra Rakhshidan Meshkin-Shahr Health Center Laboratory, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Zahra Khademi Department of Biology, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
Behnam Mohammadi-Ghalehbin Zoonoses Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Shahram Habibzadeh Department of Infectious Disease, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ardabil University of Medical Science, Ardabil, Iran
Soheila Molaei Zoonoses Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijpa.v20i1.18104

Keywords: Toxoplasma gondii; Pregnant women; Abortion; Seroprevalence; Genotype; Iran

Abstract

Background: We aimed to investigate the serological and molecular characteristics of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women and their aborted placentas in Meshkin-Shahr City during 2019-2020.

Methods: Blood samples of 210 pregnant women were evaluated for anti-T. gondii antibodies and related risk factors were determined. Also, the sera of aborted women and their buffy coats and aborted placenta tissues were used to detect anti-Toxoplasma antibodies and the parasite’s DNA, respectively. The parasite genotypes were determined by the PCR-RFLP using the SAG3 gene.

Results: The overall prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG was 24.3% and only 1% of participants were seropositive for the IgM antibody. There was a significant relationship between raw or unwashed vegetable consumption, contact with soil, vegetable/fruit washing type, and seropositivity (P<0.05). During pregnancy, 4.7% of women encountered an abortion and 30% and 50% of cases were positive for IgG antibodies before and after abortion, respectively. Only two cases were IgM seropositive after abortion. In the avidity IgG test, 20% of cases showed low avidity. BLAST and phylogenetic analysis exhibited that all isolates belonged to the type III T. gondii genotype. Although two women with spontaneous abortions showed seropositivity for IgM T. gondii antibody, parasite DNA was detected in three cases.

Conclusion: The seroprevalence of Toxoplasma infection is not high in pregnant women. Seropositive women are not safe from congenital transmission. T. gondii type III is the etiology of fetus infection in mothers with spontaneous abortion. It seems that screening and essential care are still necessary during pregnancy.