Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in a low-income community in the São Paulo municipality, SP, Brazil

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common zoonoses worldwide. The seroprevalence for T. gondii in human population from Brazil might range from 40 to 80%. The aim of this paper was to study the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in children from age one to 15 living in a low socioeconomic community, named community of Jardim São Remo in the year of 2002. The community is located in the West area of São Paulo municipality, São Paulo State, Brazil. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 110 (32.4%, CI 95%: 27.5 - 37.7) of the 339 children tested with indirect immunofluorescent antibody test. The titration of the samples revealed 29 children with serum titer equal to 16, 14 children with 32, 18 children with 64, 21 children with 128, 20 children with 256 and eight children with serum titer > 512. The age dependence of the prevalence of T. gondii infection and the association between seroprevalence for T. gondii and seroprevalence for T. canis suggest that the infection is chiefly postnatal. Seroconversion in infant population of community Jardim São Remo occurs in children as young as two years old, earlier than in the children attended at health centers of São Paulo city. The seroprevalence of T. gondii in children from Jardim São Remo was compared to the prevalence in children from other urban centers of Brazil.

Non-association between anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and ABO blood group system

“…These observations agree with previous studies that indicate a percentage of IgG anti-T. gondii antibodies in the Brazilian population (20,(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30).…”

Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis, toxocariasis and cysticercosis in a rural settlement, São Paulo State, Brazil

“…coinfection was observed in the children of a low income community in the outskirts of Sã o Paulo. 7 The presence of antibodies specific to both of these parasites was also found in 8.0% of outpatients of an Ophthalmology clinic and in 17.2% of patients suspected of toxoplasmosis infection in Egypt. 32,33 This finding is quite different than that of a survey conducted at the Á gua Sumida settlement, not far from the Dona Carmen settlement, where ocular manifestations were present in a significant number of individuals.…”

“…Low socioeconomic status is an additional factor contributing to T. gondii infection in Brazilian communities and worldwide. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]27 There was also a significant increase in infections in females compared to males. This may be a result of women remaining near or inside the house, close to domestic animals, and becoming predisposed to T. gondii infection.…”

“…[3][4][5] In Brazil, seroprevalence of these agents varies according to geographical region, biological characteristics, and the local environment. [6][7][8] The diagnosis of toxocariasis, toxoplasmosis, and cysticercosis are based on clinical examination, diagnostic images, and serology. [9][10][11] For the serodiagnosis of toxocariasis, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using T. canis larvae excretorysecretory antigens (TES) is widely used to detect specific IgG antibodies.…”

Nephrotic syndrome associated with toxoplasmosis: report of seven cases

“…Recent seroepidemiological surveys performed in different segments of the Brazilian population revealed infection rates ranging from 32.4 to 74.5%, depending on the age, with highest values occurring in adults 3,16,17,18 . In other countries high rates of human infection with T. gondii can also be found 1,6,8,11,15 .…”