Moschen M E, Stroffolini T, Arista S, Pistoia D, Giammanco A, Azara A, De Mattia D, Chiaramonte M, Rigo G, Scarpa B
Istituto d'Igiene, Università di Padova, Italy.
Microbiologica. 1991 Jul;14(3):229-34.
Between 1987 and 1989, the prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii was determined by ELISA in serum samples from 1,494 apparently healthy subjects, 3-18 years old. Subjects were selected by a systematic cluster sampling from five geographical areas in Italy. The overall prevalence of antibodies was 17.9%, increasing from 4.7% in 4-6 year olds to 28.4% in 17-18 year olds (P less than 0.01). A slight predominance was observed among males (18.2% vs. 17.5% in females), as well as among subjects residing in Southern Italy and the Islands (21.9% vs. 19.2% in subjects residing in the North), but neither difference was statistically significant. Toxoplasma infection was associated with sociodemographic factors. Subjects belonging to a household with six or more persons had a 1.8-fold risk (C.I. 95% = 1.3-2.6) and subjects whose fathers had less than six years of schooling had a 2.7-fold rosk (C.I. 95% = 1.8-3.9) of previous exposure to toxoplasma infection. Considering the large proportion (70%) of young women entering childbearing age without toxoplasma antibodies, it appears that the risk of congenital toxoplasmosis will not be negligible in Italy in forthcoming years.
1987年至1989年期间，采用酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）对1494名3至18岁看似健康的受试者的血清样本进行检测，以确定弓形虫抗体的流行率。这些受试者是通过系统整群抽样从意大利五个地理区域选取的。抗体的总体流行率为17.9%，从4至6岁儿童的4.7%升至17至18岁青少年的28.4%（P<0.01）。男性的流行率略高于女性（分别为18.2%和17.5%），居住在意大利南部和岛屿地区的受试者的流行率也略高于居住在北部的受试者（分别为21.9%和19.2%），但这两个差异均无统计学意义。弓形虫感染与社会人口统计学因素相关。来自六人及以上家庭的受试者既往接触弓形虫感染的风险高出1.8倍（95%置信区间=1.3至2.6），父亲受教育年限少于六年的受试者既往接触弓形虫感染的风险高出2.7倍（95%置信区间=1.8至3.9）。鉴于很大比例（70%）进入生育年龄的年轻女性没有弓形虫抗体，未来几年意大利先天性弓形虫病的风险似乎不容小觑。
