Western blotting for the diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis is a common congenital infection. It does not usually produce recognizable signs of infection at birth so most infected newborns are not detected by routine clinical examination and remain untreated. Infected children without clinical symptoms should nonetheless be identified and treat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The New microbiologica 2011-01, Vol.34 (1), p.93-95
Main Authors: Magi, Barbara, Migliorini, Lucia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Antibodies, Protozoan - analysis
Antibodies, Protozoan - blood
Antibody Affinity
Blotting, Western
Female
Humans
Immunoglobulin G - analysis
Immunoglobulin G - blood
Immunoglobulin M - analysis
Immunoglobulin M - blood
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Pregnancy
Sensitivity and Specificity
Toxoplasma - immunology
Toxoplasmosis, Congenital - diagnosis
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Summary:Toxoplasmosis is a common congenital infection. It does not usually produce recognizable signs of infection at birth so most infected newborns are not detected by routine clinical examination and remain untreated. Infected children without clinical symptoms should nonetheless be identified and treated as early as possible. Serological diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis is quite difficult. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of Western blot for the diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis. We compared the immunological profiles of mothers and children to differentiate between passively transmitted maternal antibodies and antibodies synthesized by the infants in the first three months of life. The method enabled us to diagnose congenital toxoplasmosis in cases in which the infection had not been detected by classical serology techniques.
ISSN:1121-7138