ABSTRACT

Toxoplasmosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan infection which has a worldwide distribution. Sabin-Feldman is considered as a reference test among serologic methods for its high sensitivity and specificity and has a role for the confirmation of the suspected results of the commonly used ELISA tests. Few laboratories perform this test as it enrolls the live tachyzoites.The aim of this study was to report the results of Ankara University Medical Faculty Parasitology laboratory which is the first lab to perform this test in Turkey.

We retrospectively investigated anti-Toxoplasma antibody positivities and titers of 678 sera obtained from 648 patients who applied to our laboratory between January 1997 and December 2007 with a prediagnosis of toxoplasmosis.

Among 648 patients (490 (75.62%) female and 158 (24.38%) male), 318 (46.90%) were seropositive with titers of 1:16 or higher. The titers were 1:16 in 93, 1:64 in 134, 1:256 in 53, 1:1024 in 28 and 10 patients with higher titers. Seven patients (1.08%) seroconverted or had a 4 fold increase in antibody titers in their sera taken 3 weeks apart and were considered as acute toxoplasmosis. There was no statistically signifi cant difference between the seropositivity rates of female and male patients (p=0.078).

Sabin-Feldman Test still has an important role in seroprevalence studies both in humans and animals and confi rmation of the tests used in routine diagnosis.

Keywords: Toxoplasma gondii, Sabin-Feldman Test, toxoplasmosis, serology, Ankara