SCREENING TEST TO DETECT RECENT TOXOPLASMA GONDII INFECTIONS IN PREGNANT WOMEN.

The differentiation between acute and latent forms of Toxoplasma gondii (T gondii) infection is still considered as a complicated issue. This study elucidated the establishment of a method that can detect most, if not all, of the recent infections with T gondii through detecting both the immunological and genetic markers. The study included cases' group (G1): 30 pregnant women considered to be a high-risk group (with history of abnormal pregnancy outcomes), and the controls (G2) were 20 apparently healthy women cross matched in ages but with a history of normal pregnancy. The two groups were subjected to PCR and immunoblotting in the diagnosis of T. gondii infection compared to the routinely used assays (Rapid toxo IgM by immunochromatog- raphy & ELISA IgM). The results showed that of 30 pregnant women (Gi) 3(10%) were positive by Rapid Toxo- IgM, 5(16.67%) by ELISA-IgM, 9(30%) by immunoblotting and 6(20%) by PCR.