Seroepidemiology of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women between 2018 and 2022

Introduction: Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide occurring blood and tissue parasite. It can be spread by ingestion of contaminated food/drink, as well as transplantation, transfusion, and transplacental route. From the view of acute Toxoplasma infection, pregnant women susceptible to toxoplasmosis are one of the main risk groups due to possible foetal harm. Toxoplasma-specific immunoglobulins (A, M, G) were measured for the determination of susceptibility to toxoplasmosis. This test allows reliable monitoring of the serostatus of the mother: susceptibility (seronegative), previous toxoplasmosis, latent infection and diagnosis of acute infection with/without symptoms. The anti-Toxoplasma immunoglobulin G avidity test is used to confirm/exclude the latter one. Objective: Determination of Toxoplasma seroprevalence in pregnant women in Szeged and the Szeged region. Method: Retrospective collection of data between 2018 and 2022 from the locally used MedBakter system, followed by analysis of data for pregnant women aged 14-50 years. Results: Over the 5-year period, we studied the sera of 8609 pregnant women, of whom 7093 had 1, 1430 had 2, 83 had 3, and 3 had 4 pregnancies. The mean age of the pregnant women included in the analysis was 31 years. Among them, 6834 (79.4%) seronegative and 1775 (20.6%) seropositive: latently or previously (1756) and acutely (19) infected pregnant women were found by our methods. In 4 cases, seroconversion occurred during the given pregnancy. Discussion: The Toxoplasma seroprevalence among pregnant women in Szeged and the Szeged region was 20.6% between 2018 and 2022, which is a decrease compared to the national data recorded in 2000. Conclusion: Based on our results, screening of mothers susceptible to toxoplasmosis during pregnancy is strongly recommended at least bimonthly, so it is not enough to test the serostatus in the first trimester.