Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Feb 6;10(1):1963.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-59060-w.

First isolation and molecular characterization of Toxoplasma gondii strains from human congenital toxoplasmosis cases in Monastir, Tunisia

Ibtissem Lahmar  1 , Arwa Lachkhem  2 , Oussama Babba  2 , Darine Slama  2 , Aida Trabelsi  3 , Karine Passebosc-Faure  4 , Marie Laure Dardé  4   5 , Hamouda Babba  2   3
Affiliations

First isolation and molecular characterization of Toxoplasma gondii strains from human congenital toxoplasmosis cases in Monastir, Tunisia

Ibtissem Lahmar et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoon parasite that can cause severe clinical problems such as congenital toxoplasmosis. The distribution of T. gondii genotypes varies from one geographic area to another. So far, little is known about the parasite genotypes in Tunisia, North Africa. The present study aimed isolating and genotyping T. gondii from the amniotic fluid (AF) and placenta of pregnant women in Monastir, Tunisia. Amniotic fluid and/or placenta from 80 women who acquired toxoplasma infection during pregnancy were tested by PCR and/or mouse bioassay. Genotyping of T. gondii isolates from these samples was performed with 15 microsatellite markers. Four viable T. gondii strains were isolated from either the AF or placenta of four women. Specifically, strains TUN001-MON1 and TUN002-MON2 were isolated from both the AF and placenta, TUN003-AHA from only the placenta, and TUN004-NEL from only the AF. The four viable strains were not virulent for mice. Genotyping revealed that the four strains were type II strains. This is the first report on isolation and genotyping of T. gondii from AF human samples in Tunisia. Further studies focused on T. gondii genotyping on a larger number of human cases and on animals in Tunisia are needed to improve the knowledge and epidemiology of toxoplasmosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Fundus photography, (a) Normal fundus, (b) Peripheral chorioretinal lesion in the left eye (arrows).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chart of screening pregnant women with toxoplasmosis in Monastir.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Montoya JG, Liesenfeld O. Toxoplasmosis. Lancet (London, England) 2004;363:1965–1976. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(04)16412-x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Robert-Gangneux F, Dardé M-L. Epidemiology of and diagnostic strategies for toxoplasmosis. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 2012;25,:264–296. doi: 10.1128/CMR.05013-11. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dunn D, et al. Mother-to-child transmission of toxoplasmosis: risk estimates for clinical counselling. The Lancet. 1999;353:1829–1833. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(98)08220-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Phan L, et al. Longitudinal study of new eye lesions in children with toxoplasmosis who were not treated during the first year of life. Am. J. Ophthalmol. 2008;146:375–384. e374. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2008.04.033. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sibley LD, Mordue DG, Su C, Robben PM, Howe DK. Genetic approaches to studying virulence and pathogenesis in Toxoplasma gondii. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. 2002;357:81. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2001.1017. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms