Abstract

Background: Infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii is a common infection in animals and humans worldwide. This infection can occur after ingestion of water or food contaminated with cat oocytes, ingestion of tissue cysts in mammalian and avian meat and congenitally. The prenatal infection can lead to Congenital Toxoplasmosis with miscarriage or stillbirth. After infection, laboratory tests are positive within 2-3 weeks and remain positive throughout life. However, testing for Toxoplasma infection during pregnancy is necessary in some countries, while in others it is not a mandatory “screening” test. Objective: The aim of this study was to review systematically the screening of toxoplasmosis in pregnancy in different countries worldwide. Methods: Cohorts, retrospective and cross-sectional studies were incorporated in our review, finally including 11 articles from an initial pool of 1532 related papers. Results: The seroprevalence of pregnant women varies from countries with low prevalence to regions with high prevalence and screening policies also differ. Most countries worldwide have control policies, while Germany and Mexico that do not have systematic screening for Toxoplasma during the prenatal period. Conclusion: Our results show that Congenital Toxoplasmosis is very rare in some countries and it is very difficult to find a balance between potential risk and benefit of a screening program. For this reason, some countries are limited to prenatal counseling to reduce CT. In addition, the reduction of major sources of contamination especially in developing countries is the most important prevention measure.

Key words: Toxoplasma gondii; prenatal infection; prenatal toxoplasmosis screening; toxoplasmosis screening worldwide; toxoplasmosis antibodies.