Abstract
It has been suggested that congenital toxoplasmosis could be prevented by antenatal serological screening, followed by treatment or by termination of pregnancy if infection occurs. The only study of the incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland took place more than 10 years ago. To obtain more recent figures laboratory reports of cases occurring from 1975 to 1980 were analysed. A total of 91 cases were reported over the six years. By criteria established to classify these infections only 34 were congenital, 20 were acquired postnatally, and 37 were unclassifiable. The mean annual number of cases of congenital toxoplasmosis was considerably smaller than that found in other recent studies. The condition could be underdiagnosed or rates of placental transmission could be lower in Britain than in other countries. Variation in reporting criteria of the laboratories made the data difficult to interpret. Improved diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis would not only clarify the epidemiology but would also help clinicians in management of suspected cases. Further antenatal surveys are necessary to assess the role of screening in the prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Alford C. A., Jr, Stagno S., Reynolds D. W. Congenital toxoplasmosis: clinical, laboratory, and therapeutic considerations, with special reference to subclinical disease. Bull N Y Acad Med. 1974 Feb;50(2):160–181. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Broadbent E. J., Ross R., Hurley R. Screening for toxoplasmosis in pregnancy. J Clin Pathol. 1981 Jun;34(6):659–664. doi: 10.1136/jcp.34.6.659. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Desmonts G., Naot Y., Remington J. S. Immunoglobulin M-immunosorbent agglutination assay for diagnosis of infectious diseases: diagnosis of acute congenital and acquired Toxoplasma infections. J Clin Microbiol. 1981 Nov;14(5):486–491. doi: 10.1128/jcm.14.5.486-491.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Payne R. A., Isaac M., Francis J. M. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using antibody class capture for the detection of antitoxoplasma IgM. J Clin Pathol. 1982 Aug;35(8):892–896. doi: 10.1136/jcp.35.8.892. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ruoss C. F., Bourne G. L. Toxoplasmosis in pregnancy. J Obstet Gynaecol Br Commonw. 1972 Dec;79(12):1115–1118. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1972.tb11897.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Williams K. A., Scott J. M., Macfarlane D. E., Williamson J. M., Elias-Jones T. F., Williams H. Congenital toxoplasmosis: a prospective survey in the West of Scotland. J Infect. 1981 Sep;3(3):219–229. doi: 10.1016/s0163-4453(81)90773-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wilson C. B., Remington J. S., Stagno S., Reynolds D. W. Development of adverse sequelae in children born with subclinical congenital Toxoplasma infection. Pediatrics. 1980 Nov;66(5):767–774. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wilson C. B., Remington J. S. What can be done to prevent congenital toxoplasmosis? Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1980 Oct 15;138(4):357–363. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(80)90129-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]