Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii among pregnant Saudi woman in Arar, Northern Borders Province, Saudi Arabia

Background: Toxoplasmosis, a worldwide disease, is considered one of the main problems challenging developed and developing countries. Congenital toxoplasmosis is caused by intrauterine infection with Toxoplasma gondii. Particularly, if the infection occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy it may cause serious complications, resulting from vertical transmission to an embryo, such as microcephaly, hydrocephalus, and blindness. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of T. gondii among pregnant Saudi women in Arar, Northern Borders Province, Saudi Arabia. Patients and methods: A total of 340 participants enrolled for prenatal care at the Arar Maternity and Pediatric Hospital in Arar over a 1-year period between January 2015 and January 2016 were included. Two techniques were used to detect the presence of T. gondiispecific antibodies in their sera: an indirect hemagglutination assay followed by a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: In general, the data showed that there was a positive correlation (P 0.05) between women aged between 20 and 30 years and toxoplasmosis infection. Of the 340 samples tested using an indirect hemagglutination assay, 285 samples were negative and 55 (6.2%) samples were positive at dilutions between 1 : 64 and 1 : 2048. For the specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, from 340 tested samples, two were seropositive at 0.6% with T. gondii immunoglobulin M and 55 samples were seropositive at 13.5% with anti-T. gondii immunoglobulin G. Conclusion: Screening measures can be taken to decrease the risk for infection during pregnancy and prevent severe illness in newborn infants. Therefore, many cases of congenital toxoplasmosis can be prevented.