ABSTRACT

Toxoplasmosis is a common parasitic infection caused by an obligate intracellular protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii. Prevalence and risk factors of T. gondii infection in women of childbearing age in Osun State, Nigeria are unknown. This study was aimed to determine the seroprevalence and potential risk factors in acquiring T. gondii infection by women of childbearing age in Osun State, Nigeria. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2019 to December 2019 in childbearing age women. Sera of 415 women aged 18–49 years randomly selected were collected and analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. A questionnaire survey was administered for all study participants to collect socio-demographic and risk factors data. The study revealed that the overall seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was 76.63%, which comprised 6.02% positivity for anti-T. gondii IgM (25/415), 44.10% for IgG (183/415) and 26.51% for IgG plus IgM (110/415). Seroprevalence of IgM antibodies to T. gondii (6.02%) suggested recent infections. Women residing in rural communities and women of Islam religion showed significant association with anti-T. gondii seropositivity (p < 0.05). Residence location and women who are of Islam religion are risk factors to acquire T. gondii infection. Hence, health education and awareness on the disease and its transmission to women of childbearing age group in general and pregnant women in particular should be created during antenatal follow up to reduce the risk of T. gondii infection in pregnant women.

 抽象的

弓形虫病是一种常见的寄生虫感染，由专性细胞内原生动物弓形虫引起。尼日利亚奥孙州育龄妇女弓形虫感染的患病率和危险因素尚不清楚。本研究旨在确定尼日利亚奥孙州育龄妇女感染弓形虫的血清流行率和潜在危险因素。 2019 年 5 月至 2019 年 12 月对育龄妇女进行了一项基于社区的横断面研究。随机抽取 415 名 18-49 岁女性的血清，并通过酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）测试进行分析。对所有研究参与者进行了问卷调查，以收集社会人口统计和风险因素数据。研究显示，弓形虫感染的总体血清阳性率为76.63％，其中抗弓形虫IgM阳性率为6.02％（25/415），IgG阳性率为44.10％（183/415），IgG加IgM阳性率为26.51％ (110/415)。弓形虫IgM 抗体的血清阳性率 (6.02%) 表明近期感染。居住在农村社区的妇女和信仰伊斯兰教的妇女与抗弓形虫血清阳性显着相关（ p < 0.05）。居住地和信仰伊斯兰教的女性是感染弓形虫的危险因素。因此，应在产前随访期间对广大育龄妇女、特别是孕妇进行健康教育，提高对弓形虫感染及其传播的认识，以降低孕妇感染弓形虫的风险。