Prevalence and risk factors profile of seropositive Toxoplasmosis gondii infection among apparently immunocompetent Sudanese women

• Published in: BMC research notes Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 279 - 6
• Main Authors: Mustafa, Madinna, Fathy, Fatima, Mirghani, Abubaker, Mohamed, Mona A., Muneer, Mohamed S., Ahmed, Abdallah E., Ali, Mohamed Siralkhatim, Omer, Rihab A., Siddig, Emmanuel E., Mohamed, Nouh S., Abd Elkareem, Amjed M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central 16.05.2019; BioMed Central Ltd; BMC
• Subjects: Age; Aging; Antibodies; Antigens; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Congenital diseases; Containers; Demographic aspects; Diagnosis; Domestic cats; Fetuses; Immunocompetence; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin M; Immunoglobulins; Infection; Infections; Life Sciences; Marital status; Married women; Meat; Medical examination; Medical research; Medicine/Public Health; Miscarriage; Obstetrics; Parasites; Prevalence; Protozoa; Research Note; Risk factors; Statistical analysis; Studies; Sudan; Toxoplasma gondii; Toxoplasmosis; Women; Womens health; Sudan; United Kingdom > UK; Ethiopia; Addis Ababa Ethiopia; Risk factors; Prevalence; Sudan; Toxoplasma gondii
• ISSN: 1756-0500; 1756-0500
• DOI: 10.1186/s13104-019-4314-0

Objectives Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic parasite that causes a clinical manifestation known as toxoplasmosis. We investigated the prevalence and potential risk factors of T. gondii infection among women in Khartoum, Sudan. A sero-parasitological cross-sectional study included 100 women aging between 15 and 50 years old was conducted between January and November 2018. Serum samples were collected and investigated for the presence of anti- T. gondii immunoglobulins. Results Mean age of the women population included was 26.75 ± 8.25 with a range between 15 and 50 years. Sero-prevalence of T. gondii antibodies was 27% (27/100) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 18.6–36.8%. Among seropositive population 81% (22/27), 15% (4/27) and 4% (1/27) were seropositive for IgG antibodies, IgM antibodies and both antibodies respectively. Age group 21–30 years old had the highest frequency of detected IgG (10/45) and IgM (3/45). Married women had the highest frequency of detected IgG or IgM, 18/79 and 3/79, respectively. Risk factors analysis showed a total of 37/100 participants were having direct contact with cats and 66/100 have a frequent raw meat consumption, neither direct cats contact nor raw meat consumption had a statistically significant association with seropositivity to T. gondii (P value = 0.052 and 0.565, respectively).