Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnant women in rural Durango, Mexico.

The epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnant women in rural Mexico is largely unknown. The seroepidemiology of T. gondii infection in 439 pregnant women from 9 communities in rural Durango State, Mexico was investigated. Using commercial enzyme-linked immunoassays, sera were tested for T. gondii IgG, IgM, and avidity antibodies. Prevalences of T. gondii IgG antibodies in the communities varied from 0% to 20%. Overall, 36 (8.2%) of the 439 women had IgG T. gondii antibodies. Ten (2.3%) women had also T. gondii IgM antibodies; IgG avidity was high in all IgM-positive women, suggesting chronic infection. None of the women, however, had delivered a known T. gondii-infected child. The seroprevalence was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in women from low socio-economic conditions (14%) than in those with higher socio-economic status (6.6%). Multivariate analysis showed that T. gondii infection was associated with soil floors at home (adjusted OR = 2.89; 95% CI: 1.12-7.49). This is the first epidemiological study of T. gondii infection in pregnant women in rural Mexico.

Stillbirth history and Toxoplasma gondii infection in women attending public health centers in a northern Mexican City.

Through a cross-sectional study design, 150 women attending public health centers with a history of stillbirths were examined for anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies in Durango City, Mexico. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the association of T. gondii seropositivity with the characteristics of the women with stillbirth history. Of the 150 women (mean age: 32.09 ± 9.16 years) studied, 14 (9.3%) had anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies and six (42.9%) of them were also positive for anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies. Multivariate analysis showed that T. gondii seropositivity was associated with high frequency (4-7 days a week) of eating meat (OR = 5.52; 95% CI: 1.48-20.59; P = 0.01), history of lymphadenopathy (OR = 4.52; 95% CI: 1.14-17.82; P = 0.03), and history of surgery (OR = 8.68; 95% CI: 1.04-72.15; P = 0.04). This is the first study on the seroepidemiology of T. gondii infection in women with a history of stillbirths in Mexico. The association of T. gondii exposure with a history of surgery warrants for further research. Risk factors for T. gondii infection found in the present survey may help to design optimal educational programs to avoid T. gondii infection.

[Electrophoretic profile of proteinuria in normal pregnancy and in gestational hypertension]. / Perfil electroforético de la proteinuria en el embarazo normal y en la hipertensión gestacional.

The aim of this study was the determination of the electrophoretic patterns and evaluation of the proteinuria type in the normal pregnancy and in women with gestational hypertension with or without pathological proteinuria, using high performance electrophoresis in SDS-polyacrylamide as analytical tool. The study was done with patients from the General Hospital of the Ministry of Health in Durango, México. Three groups were formed; one included normal pregnant women (n = 13); the second one was formed by patients with gestational hypertension without pathological proteinuria (n = 25); the third group was formed by patients with gestational hypertension and pathological proteinuria (n = 12). The electrophoretic pattern in the three groups showed high and low molecular weight proteins, corresponding to mixed proteinuria (glomerular and tubular). The samples from the group of hypertension of pregnancy with pathological proteinuria showed greater IgG and transferrin content. It is concluded that physiological proteinuria in the normal pregnancy and pathological proteinuria in gestational hypertension differ quantitatively in an absolute and relative manner. The analytical method employed in this study is useful in the evaluation of renal compromise in diseases coursing with proteinuria.

[Risk factors for cervico-uterine cancer associated to HPV: p53 codon 72 polymorphism in women attending hospital care]. / Factores de riesgo para cáncer cervicouterino por IVPH: polimorfismo del codón 72 del gen oncosupresor p53 en mujeres que acuden a atención hospitalaria.

In codon 72 of the p53 antioncogene there are two alleles, arginine and proline; the arg/arg genotype has recently been identified as a risk factor for developing of cervicouterine cancer (CuCa) associated to human papillomavirus (HVP) infection. The aim of this work was to determine in a sample of women the frequency of proline-arginine alleles and genotypes of p53 codon 72. The study was conducted in a sample of inpatient women at the hospital. p53 codon 72 alleles were determined in genomic ADN by amplification of specific sequences by chi 2 test. From 102 analyzed samples, p53-arginine allele corresponded to 67.64% and p53-proline allele corresponded to 32.36%; 47 women (46.10%) were arg/arg homocygotes, 11 women (10.77%) were pro/pro homocygotes, 44 women (43.13%) were arg/pro heterocigotes; the genotype distribution was within the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The detection of a high percentage of arginine homocygotes suggests that this genotype, considered as a risk factor for cancer associated to oncogenic HPV, has a high prevalence in the north of Mexico. The determination of this kind of polymorphisms is important as preventive action with regard to identification of risk factors for CaCu associated to HPV infection.

Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in a Mennonite community in Durango State, Mexico.

There is a lack of information concerning the epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Mennonites (an ethnic group of Mexican citizens of German descent living in rural communities). The prevalence of anti- T. gondii immunoglobulin (Ig) G and IgM antibodies was examined in 152 Mennonites in Durango State, Mexico, using enzyme-linked immunoassays. In total, 46 (30.3%) of 152 participants (mean age 38.4 ± 15.5 yr) had IgG T. gondii antibodies; 5 (3.3%) also had IgM T. gondii antibodies. Toxoplasma gondii infection was significantly associated with the presence of cats at home (adjusted OR  =  3.93; 95% CI: 1.40-11.05), raising cattle (adjusted OR  =  3.88; 95% CI: 1.24-12.11), consumption of pigeon meat (adjusted OR  =  3.0; 95% CI: 1.36-6.63), and consumption of untreated water (adjusted OR  =  2.42; 95% CI: 1.09-5.40). This is the first report of seroprevalence and contributing factors for T. gondii infection in Mennonites and of an association of the consumption of pigeon meat with T. gondii infection. Results of this study should be useful in the design of optimal preventive measures against T. gondii infection.