3 research outputs found
Congenital toxoplasmosis: evaluation of serological methods for the detection of anti- Toxoplasma gondii IgM and IgA antibodies
A study was carried out to evaluate the presence of serological markers
for the immunodiagnosis of the vertical transmission of toxoplasmosis.
We tested the sensitivity, specificity and predictive values (positive
and negative) of different serological methods for the early diagnosis
of congenital toxoplasmosis. In a prospective longitudinal study, 50
infants with suspected congenital toxoplasmosis were followed up in the
ambulatory care centre of Congenital Infections at University Hospital
in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil, from 1 January 2004-30 September
2005. Microparticle Enzyme Immunoassay (MEIA), Enzyme-Linked
Fluorescent Assay (ELFA) and Immune-Fluorescent Antibody Technique
(IFAT) were used to detect specific IgM anti- Toxoplasma gondii
antibodies and a capture ELISA was used to detect specific IgA
antibodies. The results showed that 28/50 infants were infected. During
the neonatal period, IgM was detected in 39.3% (11/28) of those
infected infants and IgA was detected in 21.4% (6/28). The sensitivity,
specificity and predictive values (positive and negative) of each assay
were, respectively: MEIA and ELFA: 60.9%, 100%, 100%, 55.0%; IFAT:
59.6%, 91.7%, 93.3%, 53.7%; IgA capture ELISA: 57.1%, 100%, 100%,
51.2%. The presence of specific IgM and IgA antibodies during the
neonatal period was not frequent, although it was correlated with the
most severe cases of congenital transmission. The results indicate that
the absence of congenital disease markers (IgM and IgA) in newborns,
even after confirming the absence with several techniques, does not
constitute an exclusion criterion for toxoplasmosis