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Followup To
Question -
Hi, can you help me with a lab result? My doctor will only discuss lab results in person and they don't have anything available for a month!
I had a baby 7 weeks ago. In the first trimester I was tested for toxoplasmosis and it came back negative. At the end of my pregnancy I had a possible exposure but I was not tested. I decided last week to get tested rather than have my baby tested. Well, the results are confusing and before I have my baby stuck in the arm I'm praying you can clear up the confusion. Here are the results:
Toxoplasma gondii Ab,IgG,Qn result was 7.9 (0.0-6.4 reference interval) <6.5 is negative, 6.5-7.9 is Equivocal, and >7.9 is positive
Toxoplasma gondii Ab,IgM,Qn result negative.
So my IgG result was "equivocal" bordering on positive.
Since the test at the beginning of my pregnancy said negative, does this mean I was exposed later in the pregnancy? What is the difference between IgG and IgM? The receptionist wrote on my result paper "the blood test shows you have been exposed but are not infected now". Well that makes no sense to me. All I needed to know was do I have antibodies or not? Can you help? I hate to have my baby stuck for nothing!
Thanks so much,
Michelle
Answer -
If you have toxopoasmosis (now), IgM will be positive. If you were ever exposed to toxoplasmosis during your lifetime, you will have a positive IgG. (persons who have cats usually have a positive IgG). Once IgG is positive it remains positive for your entire lifetime. HOwever, as long as the IgM is negative, it means that you do not have toxoplasmosis and your baby is fine. YOu do not have to test the baby. Your IgG was probably positive at the beginning of the pregnancy, but your IgM has always been negative, and that is why your doctor said you were negative at the beginning of the pregnancy. Please do not worry.
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Thanks for the reply. I called my OB doctor and she said that I was both IgG & IgM negative at the beginning of the pregnancy. So, since I was IgG positive and IgM negative at 6 weeks post partum, that means I was newly infected during the pregnancy, right?
AnswerNo, it merely means that you were exposed to toxoplasmosis during the pregnancy, not infected. If you had any contact with any cats, you may have been exposed to the spores, however, you were not infected with the disease, or you would have IgM positive.
