Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infections in Syrian pregnant refugee women in Turkey.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Congenital infections in refugee women have been very rarely studied. The purpose of this study is to investigate the Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) seroprevalence in Syrian pregnant refugee women living in Turkey and to discuss the differences with Turkish pregnant women. STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective cohort study including 752 pregnant refugee women and is based on the nine-year data of a reference public hospital in Ankara. RESULTS: In the study group, T. gondii immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) seropositivity rates were 47 % and 0.4 %, respectively. Compared with a recent study conducted in the same center on Turkish native pregnant women, there was a significant difference in IgG seropositivity and no significant difference in IgM seropositivity. CONCLUSION: Due to the seroprevalence difference between the indigenous and refugee groups, the Syrian refugee women has to be specifically considered in the prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis infections in Turkey.