Frimpong Christiana, Makasa Mpundu, Sitali Lungowe, Michelo Charles
Department of Public Health, University of Zambia, School of Medicine, Lusaka, Zambia.
Department of Biomedical Science, University of Zambia, School of Medicine, Lusaka, Zambia.
BMC Infect Dis. 2017 Jan 5;17(1):10. doi: 10.1186/s12879-016-2133-7.
Toxoplasmosis is a neglected zoonotic disease which is prevalent among pregnant women especially in Africa. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and determinants of the disease among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).
A cross-sectional study was employed where 411 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at UTH were interviewed using closed ended questionnaires. Their blood was also tested for Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies using the OnSite Toxo IgG/IgM Combo Rapid test cassettes by CTK Biotech, Inc, USA.
The overall seroprevalence of the infection (IgG) was 5.87%. There was no seropositive IgM result. Contact with cats showed 7.81 times the risk of contracting the infection in the pregnant women and being a farmer/being involved in construction work showed 15.5 times likelihood of contracting the infection. Socio-economic status of the pregnant women also presented an inverse relationship (showed association) with the infection graphically. However, though there were indications of association between contact with cats, employment type as well as socioeconomic status of the pregnant women with the infection, there was not enough evidence to suggest these factors as significant determining factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection in our study population.
There is a low prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in Lusaka, Zambia. Screening for the infection among pregnant women can be done once or twice during pregnancy to help protect both mother and child from the disease. Health promotion among women of child bearing age on the subject is of immense importance in order to help curb the situation. Further studies especially that of case-control and cohort studies should be carried out in the country in order to better ascertain the extent of the condition nationwide.
弓形虫病是一种被忽视的人畜共患病，在孕妇中普遍存在，尤其是在非洲。本研究旨在确定在大学教学医院（UTH）产前门诊就诊的孕妇中该疾病的血清流行率及其决定因素。
采用横断面研究，对UTH产前门诊的411名孕妇进行封闭式问卷调查。还使用美国CTK生物技术公司的OnSite Toxo IgG/IgM组合快速检测试剂盒对她们的血液进行弓形虫IgG和IgM抗体检测。
感染（IgG）的总体血清流行率为5.87%。未出现IgM血清阳性结果。与猫接触使孕妇感染的风险增加7.81倍，而身为农民/从事建筑工作使感染的可能性增加15.5倍。从图表上看，孕妇的社会经济地位与感染也呈反比关系（显示有关联）。然而，尽管有迹象表明孕妇与猫的接触、就业类型以及社会经济地位与感染之间存在关联，但在我们的研究人群中，没有足够的证据表明这些因素是弓形虫感染的重要决定因素。
赞比亚卢萨卡孕妇中弓形虫感染率较低。孕期可对孕妇进行一到两次感染筛查，以帮助保护母婴免受该疾病侵害。对育龄妇女进行关于该主题的健康促进至关重要，以帮助控制这种情况。该国应进一步开展研究，尤其是病例对照研究和队列研究，以便更好地确定全国范围内该病的状况。
