| Title | Clinical and diagnostic relevance of the Toxoplasma IgG avidity test in the serological surveillance of pregnant women in Austria. | | Author(s) | Auer H, Vander-Möse A, Picher O, Walochnik J, Aspöck H | | Institution | Department of Medical Parasitology, Clinical Institute of Hygiene, University of Vienna, Austria. | | Source | Parasitol Res 2000 Dec; 86(12):965-70. | | MeSH | Animals
Antibodies, Protozoan
Antibody Affinity
Austria
Female
Fluorescent Antibody Technique
Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect
Humans
Immunoenzyme Techniques
Immunoglobulin A
Immunoglobulin G
Immunoglobulin M
Immunologic Techniques
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic
Toxoplasma
Toxoplasmosis
| | Abstract | For evaluation of the medical relevance of a Toxoplasma IgG avidity test within the Austrian program for screening of pregnant women, 23 sera from women with seroconversions (group 1) and with proven latent Toxoplasma infections (group 3), respectively, as well as 92 sera from women suspected of having a primary infection (group 2) were tested by the indirect immunofluorescence test (IFAT), Sabin-Feldman's dye test (SFT), IgM enzyme-linked immunofluorescence assay (ELFA-IgM), IgA microparticle enzyme immunoassay, and the IgG avidity test. Group 1 sera (seroconversions) revealed a median avidity index (AI) of 0.25, whereas the median AI of group 3 sera (latent infections) was 0.66. In 31 (33.7%) of 92 cases suspected of involving a primary Toxoplasma infection, low (<0.41) or borderline AIs (0.41-0.50) were assessed, and in 61 cases (66.3%) the AIs exceeded 0.50. Finally, a recent infection could be excluded due to the results of the IgG avidity test in 59 cases; in at least 34 IgM-positive cases an unnecessary and, thus, unjustified treatment could be avoided. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Journal Article
| | PubMed ID | 11133111 |
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