Toxoplasma gondii in pregnant women in Gaziantep and its region investigation of seropositivity by elisa test

ABSTRACT TOXOPLASMA GONDII IN PREGNANT WOMEN IN GAZIANTEP AND ITS REGION INVESTIGATION OF SEROPOSITIVITY BY ELISA TEST EŞKİN, Recep M.Sc. in Biology Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Adile AKPINAR Prof. Dr. Mehmet YARAN July 2018 52 pages Toxoplasma gondii is common in all over the world and our country; a protozoan that shows compulsory intracellular localization that causes serious infections in humans and especially in pregnancies. Primary infections caused by T. gondii during pregnancy can lead to serious complications such as low birth weight, anomalies and birth. The last hosts of parasites are cats and felines, while the intermediate hosts are all mammals and poultry including humans. In our study, anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies were evaluated retrospectively in blood samples taken from 150 pregnant women aged 17-49 who applied to Gaziantep Sehitkâmil State Hospital gynecology clinics and services. As a result of the research, % 56,6 of the pregnancies had IgG antibodies and % 2 of them were IgM antibodies. A statistically significant relationship was found between the site and the pet feeding factor and the seropositivity of Toxoplasma IgG and IgM (p <0.05). Significantly in terms of IgG in the 36-49 age group, this was found to increase in seropositivity due to age increase. As a result; it is recommended that serologic follow-ups of women in the age of fertility, and especially of pregnancies, are suggested. Key words: Gaziantep, Toxoplasma gondii, elisa, seroprevalans