Affiliations: Department of Neonatology and Pediatrics, Institute of
Medical Sciences, Srinagar, Kashmir, India | Department of Pediatrics, Government Medical College
Srinagar, Kashmir, India
Note: [] Correspondence: Dr. Suhil Ahmad Choh, M.D., Department of
Neonatology and Pediatrics, Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, Kashmir,
India. Tel.: 9697021809; E-mail: suhilchoh@rediffmail.com
Abstract: Congenital toxoplasmosis is a known cause of morbidity and mortality
in infants. We investigated seroprevalence and incidence of primary
toxoplasmosis in pregnant women, its vertical transmission and incidence of
congenital toxoplasmosis. In a hospital-based 2-year study, pregnant women from
the antenatal clinic were screened for toxoplasmosis. Women with primary
toxoplasmosis were followed up until delivery and their babies were screened
for congenital toxoplasmosis. Another 5,000 randomly selected newborn babies
were screened for congenital toxoplasmosis and all Toxoplasma positive
babies were followed up for 1 year. The study revealed 27% serological
prevalence of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women, 1.1% incidence of primary
toxoplasmosis during pregnancy, 43.2% rate of vertical transmission and
0.5% incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis in pregnant women
remains under-diagnosed and leads to a higher number of infants with congenital
toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is a significant health problem in the
mother-child population in this region, and needs attention.
