Seroprevalence and determinants of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at the university teaching hospital, Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract

BackgroundToxoplasmosis is a neglected zoonotic disease which is prevalent among pregnant women especially in Africa. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and determinants of the disease among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).MethodA cross-sectional study was employed where 411 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at UTH were interviewed using closed ended questionnaires. Their blood was also tested for Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies using the OnSite Toxo IgG/IgM Combo Rapid test cassettes by CTK Biotech, Inc, USA.ResultThe overall seroprevalence of the infection (IgG) was 5.87%. There was no seropositive IgM result. Contact with cats showed 7.81 times the risk of contracting the infection in the pregnant women and being a farmer/being involved in construction work showed 15.5 times likelihood of contracting the infection. Socio-economic status of the pregnant women also presented an inverse relationship (showed association) with the infection graphically. However, though there were indications of association between contact with cats, employment type as well as socioeconomic status of the pregnant women with the infection, there was not enough evidence to suggest these factors as significant determining factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection in our study population.ConclusionThere is a low prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in Lusaka, Zambia. Screening for the infection among pregnant women can be done once or twice during pregnancy to help protect both mother and child from the disease. Health promotion among women of child bearing age on the subject is of immense importance in order to help curb the situation. Further studies especially that of case–control and cohort studies should be carried out in the country in order to better ascertain the extent of the condition nationwide.

Prevalence and risk factors profile of seropositiveToxoplasmosis gondiiinfection among apparently immunocompetent Sudanese women

“…This result was higher compared to previous studies conducted among women with history of miscarriage in Mexico (38), but similar to spontaneous abortion rate in seropositive women for T. gondii infection reported in Pakistan (17%) (39), and lower than other studies done in Egypt (40), Iran (41), and India (42). When we linked the frequency of abortion to the presence of direct contact with cats, which was considered as a risk factor for having toxoplasmosis, the relationship was statistically significant (P. value = 0.031), similar to an association reported in Zambia (36).…”

“…However, this seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies was higher than that reported in European, North and West American continents (9, 34). Such variations could be due to different study settings in terms of multiple climatic conditions, heterogenous study population and risk factors profile such as contact with pets, hygienic practice, and feeding habit (28, 29, 31, 35, 36). The result of those who aged 21-30 years having the highest frequency of T. gondii infection (28.9%) was similar to previous reports (28, 29, 36) with the exception of one study conducted in Burkina Faso that showed these who aged more than 30 years were the most infected age group (35).…”

Socio-demographic and Obstetric Variations of T. gondii and HIV-1 Co-infection among Pregnant Women in Cameroon

“…Antenatal care (ANC) provides adequate measures against maternal-fetal transmission of several diseases, including toxoplasmosis and HIV [1,2]. Toxoplasmosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii is a neglected zoonotic disease and is asymptomatic [3,4]. Toxoplasmosis is prevalent worldwide whereby about one third to half of the global population is infected [5][6][7].…”

“…Infection with T. gondii has severe consequences in immune compromised hosts such as pregnant women, HIV patients and patients receiving chemotherapy or immunosuppressive drugs [4,5,9]. The prevalence of toxoplasmosis among pregnant women showed significant variation between continents and countries and ranges from 9 -92.5% [6,8,9].…”

“…Reactivation of latent T. gondii infection causes severe and fatal neonatal complications such as stillbirth or abortion, anemia, petechiae due to thrombocytopenia, seizures, neurological defect (epilepsy), ocular disease (blindness, chorioretinitis, strabismus, retinochoroiditis) microcephaly, brain damage (intracranial calcifications, hydrocephalus), mental retardation, cardiac and cerebral anomalies [8,12,13]. Congenital transmission of the infection during the first trimester is critical and causes severe clinical conditions in the fetus, whereas infections during the third trimester lead to rapid transmission [4,14].…”