Paper Details
Prevalence of human toxoplasmosis and related risk factors using Electrochemiluminescence (ECLIA) method in West Azarbaijan Province, Iran, 2010
Sohrab Rasouli, Mohammad Sadaghian, Rasool Jafari
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.12692/ijb/4.8.124-130
Int. J. Biosci. 4(8), 124-130. April, 2014. (PDF)
Abstract:
Toxoplasmosis is a cosmopolitan protozoan infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii. Cats and other felids are its definitive host and infect most genera of vertebrates including humans as well as cat as intermediate hosts. The aim of this seroepidemiological study was to determine the frequency of infection in West Azarbaijan province, Iran, during 2011 using Electrochemiluminescence method. In this cross sectional study 200 blood samples were collected randomly from human cases reffered to the Urmia City main laboratories from almost all cities of West Azerbaijan province and also demographic variables of the subjects were collected by interviewing. Anti-Toxoplasma IgM and IgG concentrations were determined in samples using Electrochemiluminescence method. Ninety six (47%) out of 200 samples showed the positive level of anti-Toxoplasma IgG, however, 7 samples (3.5%) were positive for IgM. Nine samples (4.5%) showed the IgG concentration level in borderline. Only in one sample IgM was positive alone and therefore, among the participants of this study, 6 people had acute and 80 people had chronic infection. Significant statistical relationship between frequency of toxoplasmosis with occupation and the method of washing everyday using vegetables were observed. There was no statistically significant relationship between the frequency of Toxoplasma infection with sex, age, educational and marital status, residential status, cat and soil contact, eating undercooked meat and history of hospitalization. This study indicated the prevalence of Toxoplasma infection is high in the residents of West Azarbaijan Province, Iran. However, relatively high acute infection rate in this population could not be ignored.