Serological prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in pregnant women from Southern Brazil

During 15 months (01 April 2003-31 July 2004), 20,389 women showing positive pregnancy tests were included in a serological evaluation of toxoplasmosis prevalence using automated immunoenzymatic assays. The women's serum samples were tested for the presence of IgG and/or IgM antibodies. Overall, 53.03% of the women were positive for IgG and 3.26% were positive for IgM; the analysis used a chi-square adherence test and a significance level of 0.05 (chi (2) = 14,720.35; p = 0.00). To discriminate between recent and past infection, IgG avidity tests (n = 166) were carried out, of which 28.3% (n = 47) presented low avidity. The seroconversion index observed in this study was 0.44%. The seroprevalence results obtained were similar to other serology data found in other regions of Brazil. These data demonstrate the importance of continuous regional and national seroepidemiological inquiries to define public health strategies that can revert and reduce serological prevalence, as described in other countries where toxoplasmosis monitoring is mandatory.