Prevalence and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant and postpartum women attended at public healthcare facilities in the City of Niterói, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

IntroductionTo determine the prevalence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies among pregnant and postpartum women attended within the public healthcare system in Niterói, State of Rio de Janeiro, and to detect possible exposure factors associated with T. gondii infection in this population.MethodsIgM and IgG anti-T. gondii antibodies were investigated in 276 pregnant and 124 postpartum women by using the indirect immunofluorescence (IFAT) and immunoenzymatic assay (ELISA) techniques. The participants were selected by convenience sampling. All these 400 patients filled out a free and informed consent statement, answered an epidemiological questionnaire and were informed about the disease.ResultsAmong the 400 samples analyzed, 234 (58.5%) were reactive to IgG anti-T. gondii antibodies, according to the IFAT and/or ELISA assay. One pregnant woman was found to be reactive to IgM anti-T. gondii antibodies, with an intermediate IgG avidity test. Risk factor analysis showed that seropositivity was significantly associated (p<0.05) with age, contact with cats and presence of rodents at home. Through a logistic regression model, these associations were confirmed for age and contact with cats, while education at least of the high school level was found to be a protective factor.ConclusionsThe prevalence rate of IgG anti-T. gondii antibodies in the City of Niterói was high and the risk factors for infection detected after multivariate analysis were: age over 30 years, contact with cats and education levels lower than university graduate level.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Moura,Fernanda Loureiro de, Amendoeira,Maria Regina Reis, Bastos,Otílio Machado Pereira, Mattos,Danuza Pinheiro Bastos Garcia de, Fonseca,Ana Beatriz Monteiro, Nicolau,José Leonardo, Neves,Leandro Baptista das, Millar,Patricia Riddell
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical - SBMT 2013
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822013000200200
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!