Estimation of serum levels of human interleukin-12 in Iraqi women with toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis is a significant disease due to infection by Toxoplasma gondii that can be obtained postnatally by ingesting contaminated food or water or through sexual transmission. The oocyst is discharged in the faeces of the definitive host. The cat is the host the agent and can cause to infection. The infection can come from the consumption of meat from an organism (intermediate host) that is chronically infected with toxoplasmosis. T. gondii is capable of infecting nearly every species of a warm-blooded animal. An acute infection can be identified by the proliferation of tachyzoites, which develop quickly but have the potential to encyst into bradyzoites, which grow more slowly but can live in the host for their whole lifetime, driving to infection into a chronic state. It is estimated that nearly one-fourth of the population in the United States is infected with T. gondii. It is believed that as many as one billion people worldwide live with a persistent infection. In this case-control study, which was conducted between September 2022 and March 2022 at Al-Imameen Al-Kazimin Teaching Hospital, there were 180 volunteers involved. About 90 were healthy and made up the standard study group. The other 90 people had been clinically diagnosed with toxoplasmosis. To participate in the research, participants gave their verbal permission. Direct interviews are conducted with each patient to collect the necessary information. Inclusion criteria: Toxoplasmosis patients aged 20-50 years. Exclusion criteria: Toxoplasmosis patients aged > 50 and < 20 years with other inflammatory diseases. In the healthy females versus females with toxoplasmosis, the final results of interleukin 12, IgM, and IgG of patients and controls were (719.08 ± 20.02 and 12.41 ± 0.84 pg/ml), (0.39 ± 0.01 and 0.16 ± 0.01 IU/ml), and (721.48 ± 23.35 and 16.01 ± 0.66 IU/ml) respectively, it showed a significant difference between healthy females versus females with toxoplasmosis (p ≤ 0.001) for each variable separately, Age of patients and controls was (28.63 ± 7.94 and 28.03 ± 6.74 years) respectively, there is no relationship between age and severity of toxoplasmosis infection (p≤ 0.585). In conclusion, the severity of toxoplasmosis in females is correlated with serum interleukin-12 levels. Interleukin-12 levels in Toxoplasmosis-infected women can assess infection severity. The severity of toxoplasmosis in females is directly related to their serum IgM and IgG levels. It is observed that the age does not effect toxoplasmosis severity.