Investigation of HIV positive patients for toxoplasmosis using the latex agglutination test

Prevalence of latent toxoplasmosis and serological diagnosis of active infection in HIV-positive patients

The seroprevalence of latent Toxoplasma 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.