Seroprevalence of Anti–Toxoplasma gondii Antibodies and Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care at Debre Markos Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that causes a zoonotic disease called toxoplasmosis. If the infection acquired during pregnancy is not detected and treated early, the parasite can be transmitted transplacentally to the fetus, resulting in congenital toxoplasmosis, which likely leads to serious consequences in the fetus. Toxoplasmosis constitutes a major public health problem particularly in low- and middle-income countries including Ethiopia. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and to assess the potential risk factors of toxoplasmosis among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Debre Markos Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data on the sociodemographic and potential obstetric and behavioral risk factors were gathered through pretested structured questionnaires, and 3 mL of venous blood was also drawn from each of randomly selected 233 study subjects. The serum samples were separated from the blood samples and tested for anti- Toxoplasma antibody using Toxo-latex slide agglutination test. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between risk factors considered and T gondii infection. Results: The overall prevalence of T gondii infection was 67.8%, indicating a high prevalence of toxoplasmosis in the study area. In multivariate analysis, keeping domestic cat at home was found to be the only explanatory variable of toxoplasmosis (adjusted odds ratio = 2.449, 95% confidence interval = 1.183-5.070, P = .016). All sociodemographic variables and most of the potential obstetric and behavioral risk factors were not statistically significant explanatory variables of T gondii infection. Conclusion: The prevalence of toxoplasmosis is high in the study area. Thus, pregnant women should be aware of the potential risk of the disease when keeping cats at home and management of their litter. Inclusion of serologic screening for T gondii infection at antenatal care is warranted for prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis.

Sero-epidemiological Study of Toxoplasma gondii among Pregnant Women in Akre City

“…Sero-reactive and non sero-reactive cases in relation with risk factors like residency, handling of pet animal like cat, history of abortion, toxoplasma knowledge, there were not statistically significant according to the present results and these results were identical to those found by [27]. Our findings were dissimilar to those found by [28,29] and numerous causes contribute to this differences such as the , high awareness, care and hygiene may decrease the exposure to infection, Epidemiology varies widely by geographical areas of the study, mode of transmission A significant relationship was found between consumption of undercooked meat and IgM which were similar to those found by [30] .The current outcomes were in correspond to other investigators who found no influence of eating undercooked meat on the present outcomes of ELISA IgM like [31]. These dissimilarities based on the prior of highlighted analyzes.…”

Serosurvey of Toxoplasma gondii and Toxocara spp. co-infection in pregnant women in low-income areas of Brazil

“…Pregnant women may be directly infected by T. gondii and Toxocara spp. through the consumption of raw or undercooked meat or viscera (28), with high odds (OR: 5.7) of toxoplasmosis observed in pregnant women in northeastern Brazil (67). Although no study has found such a risk for toxocariasis and approximately one-fifth of the pregnant women herein declared the habit of consuming undercooked or raw meat, no association with toxocariasis or toxoplasmosis seropositivity was found.…”

Perfil sorológico para toxoplasmose em mulheres na idade reprodutiva, Santa Cruz, Rio Grande do Norte

“…Embora a maior prevalência da soropositividade para toxoplasmose tenha ocorrido na zona urbana, não foi encontrada associação estatisticamente significativa entre soroprevalência e zona de residência (urbana ou rural). O mesmo foi encontrado em pesquisas no Paraná com gestantes atendidas no serviço público de saúde dos municípios de Palotina e Jesuítas, onde a área de procedência não foi significativamente associado com sororeatividade 18 . Em Caxias, Maranhão, embora a soropositividade da infecção por T. gondii em gestantes de áreas rurais tenha sido menor quando comparado com às áreas urbanas, também não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa 14 .…”

“…A idade também se mostra como fator de risco para a soropositividade. No presente estudo, a faixa etária mais alta, acima de 30 anos, mostrou associação estatística com soropositividade e a mais baixa (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), com suscetibilidade à infecção. Após categorização das faixas etárias, observou-se que mulheres acima de 30 anos apresentaram ocorrência 1,4 vezes maior de soropositividade que as que têm até 30 anos.…”