Abstract
The seroprevalence of latentToxoplasma gondii infection was determined in a cohort of 715 HIV-positive patients followed up at an HIV outpatient clinic. Using indirect immunofluorescence and direct agglutination assays for detecting IgG, the prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies was shown to be 50 %. During a four-year period, clinically apparent acute toxoplasmosis occurred in 47 patients (43 with cerebral, 3 with ocular and 1 with bone marrow toxoplasmosis) among the 360 patients positive for anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG and in one patient (with cerebral toxoplasmosis) among the 355 patients who were serologically negative. A significant rise in IgG levels could be shown during acute toxoplasmosis episodes in only 30 % of patients, compared with 3 % of patients without active toxoplasmosis. During acute toxoplasmosis, IgM antibodies were detected in only two patients (6 %) by an immunosorbent agglutination assay and in one (3 %) by an enzymatic immunocapture assay. Specific IgA was detected by a non-enzymatic immunocapture assay in six patients (18 %) during acute episodes. The very high predictive value (99.7 %) of a negative IgG test remains the best serological parameter for excluding an acute episode of toxoplasmosis in HIV-positive patients.
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Zufferey, J., Sugar, A., Rudaz, P. et al. Prevalence of latent toxoplasmosis and serological diagnosis of active infection in HIV-positive patients. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 12, 591–595 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01973636
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01973636