en Reproductive Health Reproductive Health پژوهشي Original Research <p><strong>Objectives:</strong> The primary infection of pregnant women by <em>Toxoplasma gondii</em> can cause severe complications in the fetus, and can also lead to neurological complications. The aim of the present study was to determine the seroprevalence and seroconversion rates of <em>Toxoplasma gondii</em> in female students who were at childbearing age in Iran.<br /> <strong>Methods:</strong> This cross sectional study was performed on female students at Babol University of Medical Sciences (Babol, Iran) over a three-year period between 2012 and 2014. Two ml blood sample was obtained from volunteers, and the specific antibodies (IgG) to <em>T. gondii</em> were detected by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. Second, the blood samples obtained from seronegative cases were used to evaluate the seroconversion during a year.<br /> <strong>Results:</strong>&nbsp; The mean age of the subjects was 21&plusmn;2.2, ranging from18 to 35 years. Overall, 28% of the participants were positive and 232 (72%) were negative for anti-Toxoplasma antibodies (IgG). The rate of this infection was higher among female students from Mazandaran province (31.7% vs 12.5%) (P=0.031). Based on the results of Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, the seroconversion rate of Toxoplasma infection among female students was estimated to be 2.5%.<br /> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> This study found a noticeable rate of seroconversion in female students. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a national screening project to determine the seroconversion rate of Toxoplasma infection in women at childbearing age, particularly pregnant women from all over Iran.</p> Anti-Toxoplasma antibodies, Prevalence, Seroconversion, Toxoplasma gondii, Women 12 17 http://caspjrm.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-12-87-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Narges Kalantari n.kalantari@mubabol.ac.ir 10031947532846001566 10031947532846001566 No Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences Salman Ghaffari s3ghaffari@yahoo.com 10031947532846001567 10031947532846001567 Yes Ganj-Afroz Ave, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran Masomeh Bayani m_baiany@yahoo.com 10031947532846001568 10031947532846001568 No Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences Marjan Nouri nfkala@yahoo.com 10031947532846001569 10031947532846001569 No Student Research Committee, Babol University of Medical Sciences Yousef Yahyapour uyahypoor@yahoo.com 10031947532846001570 10031947532846001570 No Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences