1Atef H. Hussein and 2Gamal Kenawy
Departments of 1Parasitology and 2Biochemistry, Benha Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Egypt.
Avidity ELISA is an uprising method developed to discriminate
between acute and chronic infections. The usefulness of this technique was
tested on 143 sera screened for specific antitoxoplasma IgM and IgG antibodies
using conventional ELISA. Of the 10 sera found IgM and IgG positive, only one
(10%) showed low IgG avidity index (AI) indicative of acute Toxoplasma
infection. Out of 63 sera found positive for specific antitoxoplasma IgG only,
60 (95.2%) showed high IgG avidity index, indicative of chronic infection. In
conclusion, IgG avidity ELISA might facilitate more accurate diagnosis of acute
Toxoplasma infection in pregnant women, particularly in Egypt where
Gynecologists depend on a single serum sample in serodiagnosis of acute
toxoplasmosis. Based on this additional information, many women will avoid
repeated testing, unnecessary examinations, treatment and anxiety.