TOXOPLASMIC ANTIBODIES IN SERA OF HIV-INFECTED PERSONS

The sera of 67 HIV-infected persons without clinical signs of Toxoplasma gondii infection and sera of 777 immunocompetent persons from three distinct regions of Czechoslovakia were examined for the presence of toxoplasmic antibodies using the complement-fixation test (CFT). Additionally Toxoplasma positive HIV+ individuals were re-examined for the presence of IgG and IgM toxoplasmic antibodies by ELISA methods. Results show that overall prevalence of toxoplasmic antibodies is not significantly greater in HIV-positive subjects (29.8 %) than in the general population (26.1 %). Similarities between these two tested groups were also documented by a close correlation of their geometrical means of titres (13.9 versus 14.5). All 20 HIV-infected patients who were positive in CFT were positive in ELISA IgG reaction, and none in ELISA IgM reaction. The detected antibody levels were suggestive of a latent Toxoplasma infection only. But because of the risk of the infection reactivation all of these patients should be attended to on a systematic basis.