Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in a pregnant woman, fetus and infant — current study and new possibilities

W artykule opisano problem toksoplazmozy, skutki oraz obecną diagnostykę. Przedstawiono metody serologiczne pozwalające wykryć pierwotne zarażenie T. gondii u kobiet ciężarnych oraz szereg technik pośrednich i bezpośrednich wykorzystywanych w celu potwierdzenia bądź wykluczenia toksoplazmozy wrodzonej u noworodka. Ponadto wskazano potencjalne możliwości w diagnostyce toksoplazmozy, jakie niosą za sobą nowe techniki (np. 2D Western-blotting), czy stosowanie antygenów rekombinantowych w testach serologicznych.In this article, the problem of toxoplasmosis, ravages and current diagnostics were described. Serological assays detecting primary infection of T. gondii in pregnant women and lots of indirect and direct techniques, which are used in order to confirm or exclude congenital toxoplasmosis in newborn, were represented. Moreover, potential possibilities in diagnosis of toxoplasmosis, such as new techniques (e.g. 2D Western-blotting) or using recombinant antigens were shown

Awidność przeciwciał IgG jako ważny test diagnostyczny w rozpoznawaniu aktywnej toksoplazmozy — stan obecny i nowe możliwości

W artykule opisano problem diagnostyki toksoplazmozy ze szczególnym uwzględnieniemmetody awidności przeciwciał klasy IgG. Test oznaczania awidności przeciwciał IgGswoistych dla T. gondii jest użytecznym wskaźnikiem serologicznym toksoplazmozy, któryw wielu przypadkach na podstawie pojedynczego badania surowicy pacjenta pozwalapotwierdzić lub wykluczyć aktywną postać choroby. W pierwotnej, aktywnej toksoplazmozieprzeciwciała klasy G wskazują niską awidność, natomiast IgG o wysokiej awidnościsą wykrywane w przewlekłym zarażeniu T. gondii. W pracy ponadto przedstawionoistotne zagadnienia obejmujące aktualnie prowadzone badania naukowe, które dotyczązastosowania w teście oznaczania awidności przeciwciał IgG antygenów rekombinantowychpasożyta

IgG Avidity Test as a Tool for Discrimination between Recent and Distant Toxoplasma gondii Infection—Current Status of Studies

Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite, is the causative agent of one of the most prevalent zoonoses worldwide. T. gondii infection is extremely important from a medical point of view, especially for pregnant women, newborns with congenital infections, and immunocompromised individuals. Thus, an accurate and proper diagnosis of this infection is essential. Among the available diagnostic tests, serology is commonly used. However, traditional serological techniques have certain limitations in evaluating the duration of T. gondii infection, which is problematic, especially for pregnant women. Avidity of T. gondii-specific IgG antibodies seems to be a significant tool for discrimination between recent and distant infections. This article describes the problem of diagnosis of T. gondii infection, with regard to IgG avidity tests. The IgG avidity test is a useful serological indicator of toxoplasmosis, which in many cases can confirm or exclude the active form of the disease. IgG antibodies produced in the recent primary T. gondii infection are of low avidity while IgG antibodies with high avidity are detected in the chronic phase of infection. Furthermore, this paper presents important topics of current research that concern the usage of parasite recombinant antigens that may improve the performance of IgG avidity tests

DNA vaccines and recombinant antigens in prevention of Toxoplasma gondii infections - current status of the studies

Toxoplasmosis caused by an intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii is still one of major medical and veterinary problems and there is still need for a vaccine for human toxoplasmosis. Despite years of research much remains to be done to develop effective vaccine. The article presents the current status of vaccine strategies against toxoplasmosis with focus on the most developed approaches using naked DNA and recombinant antigens

First report of seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in sheep in Pomerania, northern Poland

Introduction and objective Toxoplasmosis is parasitic disease which has economic relevance for both veterinary and human medicine. In sheep, toxoplasmosis is a major cause of abortion and can thus cause reproductive problems. The current study aimed to determine the occurrence of anti-T oxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies in sheep from 13 districts of northern Poland and thereby obtain actual data about T. gondii seroprevalence in this population of animals. Material and Methods Blood samples from 1,646 animals from 99 herds were collected, and an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on native Toxoplasma lysate antigen (TLA) was used for serological testing. The diagnostic sensitivity of diagnostic test used in this study was 98.6%, and specificity 94.9% for the group of 113 sheep sera (74 seropositive and 39 seronegative) previously characterized by using an commercial agglutination test. Results Antibodies against [i]T. gondii[/i] were found in 921 (55.9%) of all tested animals. The percentage of infected sheep was the highest (67.6%) for older animals (>6 years), whereas for younger ones it was significantly lower (50.1% – 57.2% for 1–5-year-old animals, respectively). Furthermore, a higher percentage of seropositive animals was noted among males (63%) than females (55.5%). The results also showed that the size of the herd is not a factor which may affect the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in the examined population of sheep. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that T. gondii infection in sheep from region of northern Poland is relatively high, and consumption of ovine meat and milk can be regarded as a significant source of infection for humans