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

Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical

Fernanda Loureiro De Moura¹  Maria Regina Reis Amendoeira¹  Otílio Machado Pereira Bastos¹  Danuza Pinheiro Bastos Garcia De Mattos¹  Ana Beatriz Monteiro Fonseca¹  José Leonardo Nicolau¹  Leandro Baptista Das Neves¹  Patricia Riddell Millar¹ 

关键词: Toxoplasma gondii;    Pregnant women;    Postpartum women;    Seroprevalence;   

DOI  :  10.1590/0037-8682-1613-2013

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

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.

【 授权许可】

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