Occurrence of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> antibodies and associated risk factors in women in selected districts of Punjab province, Pakistan

Ali, Shahzad; Amjad, Zona; Khan, Tahir Mahmood; Maalik, Abdul; Iftikhar, Asma; Khan, Iahtasham; Ahmed, Haroon

doi:10.1017/s0031182020000967

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), is a widely prevalent zoonotic infection affecting warmblooded animals and humans globally [1,2]. T. gondii is transmitted to humans through contaminated water, raw vegetables containing the oocysts in cat feces, and undercooked and raw meat contaminated with tissue cysts [3] or vertically transmitted from the mother to the fetus. In addition, blood transfusions may also be reported as the potential route for transmission of T. gondii [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In immunocompromised patients, toxoplasmosis presents symptoms such as apathy, seizures, confusion, visual disorder, dyspnea, personality changes, and diarrhea [17,18]. Up to 40% of patients with AIDS develop T. gondii encephalitis [3]. T. gondii is also a risk factor for personality changes, reduced intelligence, and schizophrenia [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure 4. Forest schematic graph showing the studies of T. gondii infection in the rural and urban areas of Pakistan[3,31,32,36,37,42].…”

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Epidemiology of Toxoplasmosis among the Pakistani Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

et al. 2022

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Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular obligate parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic infection that affects warm-blooded animals and humans worldwide. To comprehensively characterize the disease condition in Pakistan for future reference, we ascertained the prevalence of Toxoplasma infection and predisposing factors in the Pakistani population over a 20-year period. We systematically reviewed research articles published in English (2000–2020) from PubMed and Google Scholar. The search results 26 publications involving 10,924 people and 2611 seropositive cases. The toxoplasmosis seropositivity rate was higher in women (25.44%) as compared to men (21.48%) and were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Furthermore, seropositivity was high among people with direct contact with cats, who consumed uncooked meat and raw vegetables, had poor education, and lived in rural areas. The 35–65-year age group had the highest prevalence rate of T. gondii infection. Toxoplasma infection was significantly more prevalent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (25.87%) than in Punjab (20.42%) (p < 0.001). This is the first comprehensive analysis of T. gondii infection epidemiology in Pakistan. It reveals a high frequency of infection among women. We strongly encourage further research to aid patient care and the development of more efficient diagnostic tests and preventative techniques.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Epidemiology of Toxoplasmosis among the Pakistani Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

et al. 2022

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“…Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common parasites that affect humans. It can result in toxoplasmosis [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. While healthy people may have mild infections, pregnant women, unborn infants, and others with impaired immune systems are at risk for severe complications [ 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence, Risk Factors and Maternal–Fetal Outcomes of Toxoplasma gondii in Pregnant Women from WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Rabaan,

Uzairue,

Alfaraj

et al. 2023

Pathogens

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Background: The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii may cause serious illness in the immunocompromised. The Toxoplasma gondii seropositive prevalence in pregnant women in WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region countries is inconsistent in the literature and it is associated with outcomes that have not be fully elucidated, hence the need for a better understanding of the pooled seroprevalence and associated maternal and fetal outcomes. Objective: The objective was to conduct a systematic literature review and determine the pooled prevalence of WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional countries’ pregnant women’s seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and the maternal–fetal outcomes. Methods: This quantitative study examined WHO Eastern Mediterranean countries’ maternal–fetal outcomes and Toxoplasma gondii prevalence in pregnant women. The targeted population was pregnant women, while the primary outcome was seropositivity of Toxoplasma gondii, while other outcomes such as maternal and fetal associations and risk factors were determined PubMed, SCOPUS, MEDLINE, and Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (IMEMR) databases were searched up until 30 January 2023. The search terms used were “Toxoplasma gondii” OR “Toxoplasma infection” AND “Pregnant woman” or pregnan* OR Antenatal OR Prenatal OR Gravidity OR Parturition OR Maternal AND WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region). OpenMeta-Analyst and Jamovi were used to analyze the generated data. Results: In total, 95 of 2947 articles meeting the inclusion criteria examined Toxoplasma gondii prevalence in pregnant women from WHO Eastern Mediterranean countries. The pooled prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in pregnant women was 36.5% (95%CI: 32.6–40.4) with a median value of 35.64%, range values of 1.38–75.30%, with 99.61% heterogeneity. The pooled seroprevalence of IgG of Toxoplasma gondii was 33.5% (95%CI: 29.8–37.2) with a median value of 33.51%, and a range values of 1.38–69.92%; the pooled seroprevalence of IgM was 3.6% (95%CI: 3.1–4.1)) with a median value of 3.62 and range values of 0.20–17.47%, while cases of pooled seroprevalence of both IgG and IgM positivity was 3.0% (95%CI: 1.9–4.4) with a median value of 2.05 and a range values of 0.05–16.62%. Of the Toxoplasma gondii seropositive women, 1281/3389 (34.8%) 174/1765 (32.9%), 1311/3101 (43.7%), and 715/1683 (40.8%) of them had contact with cats, drank unprocessed milk, ate raw or undercooked meat and ate unwashed raw vegetables, respectively. The maternal–fetal outcomes associated with Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity were a history of abortions, miscarriage, stillbirth, intrauterine fetal death, and premature birth, which were found in 868/2990 (32.5%), 112/300 (36.1%), 111/375 (25.7%), 3/157 (1.9%) and 96/362 (20.1%) of women who tested positive for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies. Conclusion: The study found a high proportion of Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in pregnant women in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, which may be linked to poor outcomes for mothers and their babies. Thus, pregnant women require monitoring and comprehensive prevention strategies for Toxoplasma gondii infection.

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“…toxoplasmosis, brucellosis etc.) are prevalent in the human population [24,25]. Because brucellosis has a considerable impact on animal production and human health, the socioeconomic life situation of people of rural regions who mainly depend on cultivation of land and livestock rearing is substantially impaired [26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence and Molecular Diagnosis of Brucellosis Among Patients at Selected Hospitals of Abbottabad, Pakistan

Hassan¹,

Ali²,

Syed³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Brucellosis is a neglected disease of ruminants with zoonotic potential. It causes severe health problems in humans and economic loss. Only a limited number of studies have been conducted in Pakistan to determine the prevalence of human brucellosis and related risk factors. The objectives of the current cross-sectional study were to determine prevalence of Brucella infection in sera collected from patients at three hospitals of Abbottabad. Risk factors were investigated. Methods: A total of 500 blood samples were collected. A questionnaire was filled in for each patient to obtain information on age, gender, living area, brucellosis associated symptoms, associated risk factors, pregnancy and abortion history. Serum agglutination test (SAT) was performed to detect antibodies against brucellae. A genus specific BCSP-31 gene RT-PCR was used to detect Brucella DNA in the sample. Statistical analysis was done to determine odd ratios, risk ratios, 95% confidence intervals and p values. Results: A total of 13.6% (n=68) patients were found to be SAT positive. DNA was found in 11.4% (n=57) samples. The prevalence of brucellosis was reported to be higher in women (14.6%, n=44) than in man (12.1%, n=24). The age group of 25-50 years was found to be at higher risk for brucellosis (14.5%, n=50). “Animal contact” was reported as the main risk factor followed by “consumption of raw animal products”. About 9.9% pregnant women (n=13) were found brucellosis positive. Of these 23.8% (n=5) had an abortion history. Conclusions: The present study reports a striking prevalence of brucellosis among patients including pregnant women at three hospitals of Abbottabad. These findings must foster strategies for controlling human brucellosis at household level, raising of awareness about brucellosis in hospital and family doctors and finally in setting up an eradication program in the dairy industry.

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Occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and associated risk factors in women in selected districts of Punjab province, Pakistan

Cited by 8 publications

References 21 publications

Epidemiology of Toxoplasmosis among the Pakistani Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Epidemiology of Toxoplasmosis among the Pakistani Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Seroprevalence, Risk Factors and Maternal–Fetal Outcomes of Toxoplasma gondii in Pregnant Women from WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Seroprevalence and Molecular Diagnosis of Brucellosis Among Patients at Selected Hospitals of Abbottabad, Pakistan

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