Age-related Prevalence of Toxoplasmosis Among Pregnant Women in Hatay: Estimation Depending on Model

Toxoplasmosis, caused by the obligate intracellular protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, is a common parasitic infection affecting approximately one-third of the world population. T. gondii infections are usually acquired by ingesting raw or insufficiently cooked meat and from unwashed fruits and vegetables contaminated with soil or water with cat feces. Primary infection acquired during pregnancy can cause severe congenital abnormalities in the fetus such as neurologic and ocular malformations, abortion, or stillbirth according to the degree of infection. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and rate of seroconversion of T. gondii IgG antibodies in a selected population of pregnant women in Hatay by using a mathematical model. T. gondii-specific serological screening test results of 11.564 pregnant women who have attended the Private Antakya Mosaic Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital between 01.04.2009 and 31.04.2016 were analysed in the study. The prevalence of T. gondii-specific IgG antibodies in the studied population were found as 48.70% (95% CI, 0.48-0.50). The prevalence of T. gondii-specific IgG antibodies were increased linearly with age in our study population. The relationship between age and prevalence was statistically significant (p<0.001). The age-specific rate of seroconversion was estimated as 0.8% for T. gondii infection in pregnant women. It was observed that the rate of T. gondii-specific IgG antibodies decreased from 55.12% (95% CI, 0.52-0.57) detected in 2009 to 42.22% (95% CI, 0.37-0.46) in 2016. The estimated number of cases carrying the risk of primer T. gondii infection was calculated as 69 in the study population. Our results have suggested that the prevalence of T. gondii-specific antibodies is high among pregnant women in Hatay. Early maternal diagnosis and treatment methods may reduce the risk of transplacental transmission during pregnancy. The on time diagnosis can only be achieved with prenatal serological screening. The knowledge of the incidence and prevalence of toxoplasma infection in pregnant women plays a crucial role in estimating the burden of the disease and evaluating the effectiveness of the public health protection policies including screening programmes. Expanding of training activities, drawing attention to hygiene, taking nutritional precautions and increasing awareness of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women are important to prevent congenital toxoplasmosis or minimize the disease.