A Comparative Analysis of the Sero-prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii between Pregnant Women and Infertile Women

Abstract

The obligatory intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii affects various species, including humans. Earlier studies on
laboratory animals showed that T. gondii infection can contribute to infertility in test animals. The aim of this study was to
compare the seroprevalence of T. gondii between pregnant and infertile women using T. gondii IgG and IgM antibody
determination methods. The cross-sectional study was conducted in different healthcare facilities in Port Harcourt with 300
randomly selected participants who were subjected to pregnancy test and female hormonal profile tests based on which they
were divided into two; 150 pregnant women and 150 infertile women. Their blood samples were tested for IgG and IgM
antibodies against T. gondii using the ELISA technique. The cumulative seroprevalence of T. gondii IgG/IgM antibodies in
the current study was 55%. In both study groups, there were more T. gondii IgG antibodies than IgM antibodies. The result
showed that there was a significant increase (p-value<0.05) in IgM antibody seroprevalence of T. gondii in the pregnancy
group than in the infertile group, but there was no significant difference (p-value>0.05) in IgG antibody sero-prevalence of T.
gondiiin both groups. This study demonstrated that pregnant women had a higher seroprevalence of IgM, which is indicative
of early infection.