Toxoplasmosis: prevalence and risk factors

• Main Authors: Nissapatorn, V., Noor Azmi, M.A., Cho, S.M., Fong, M.Y., Init, I., Rohela, M., Khairul Anuar, A., Quek, K.F., Latt, H.M.
• Format: Article
• Published: 2003
• Subjects: R Medicine
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/4268/; http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01443610310001604376
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

A total of 200 pregnant women were recruited in this cross-sectional study. The overall seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women was found to be 49, in which 39, 4 and 6 for anti-Toxoplasma IgG, IgM and both anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies, respectively. We found the differences in Toxoplasma seroprevalence rates among the races were significant: the highest rate was in the Malays (55.7), followed by the Indian (55.3) and the Chinese (19.4) (-0.05) populations. An increase in Toxoplasma seroprevalence with increasing parity was detected (-0.05). Women with no children had a prevalence of 39.7, while women with one or more than two children had a prevalence of 44.2 and 62.9, respectively. In this study, there was no significant association between Toxoplasma seroprevalence and various possible risk factors in pregnant women (P�>�0.05). When multivariate analysis was performed, no significant association between Toxoplasma seroprevalence and history of contact with cats, consumption of undercooked meat and blood transfusion was found (P�>�0.05). We did not find any newly diagnosed cases of acute acquired toxoplasmosis in pregnancy during the study period. Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01443610310001604376