Nazir M M, Akhtar M, Maqbool A, Waheed A, Sajid M A, Ali M A, Oneeb M, Alam M A, Ahmad A N, Nazir N, Fatima S, Lindsay D S
Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, B.Z University, Multan, Pakistan.
Department of Parasitology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.
Zoonoses Public Health. 2017 Nov;64(7):537-542. doi: 10.1111/zph.12336. Epub 2017 Jan 9.
Toxoplasma gondii infections are prevalent in humans and warm-blooded animals. Maternal infections during pregnancy may have devastating consequences for transplacentally infected neonates. This study was conducted to examine the seroprevalence of antibodies to T. gondii in pregnant women of childbearing age and determine risk factors associated with pregnancy history, pet ownership, social and cultural factors at Nishtar Hospital, Multan. Samples were collected from 403 women and examined using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The overall prevalence of antibodies to T. gondii was 17.6% (71) in the 403 samples collected from women. Antibodies to T. gondii were present in 19.4% (45) of 232 pregnant women and 15.2% (26) of the samples from 171 non-pregnant women. This study identified miscarriage history, pet ownership, type of residence, marital status, source of drinking water and eating habits as significant (P < 0.05) risk factors associated with the presence of antibodies to T. gondii infection. Seroprevalence was not significantly different (P > 0.05) in women from different ethnic groups based upon lifestyle and culture.
弓形虫感染在人类和温血动物中普遍存在。孕期母体感染可能会给经胎盘感染的新生儿带来毁灭性后果。本研究旨在调查育龄孕妇中弓形虫抗体的血清流行率，并确定与妊娠史、养宠物情况、社会和文化因素相关的风险因素，研究地点为木尔坦的尼什塔尔医院。从403名女性中采集样本，并使用市售酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）进行检测。在从女性中采集的403份样本中，弓形虫抗体的总体流行率为17.6%（71例）。232名孕妇中有19.4%（45例）的样本存在弓形虫抗体，171名非孕妇中有15.2%（26例）的样本存在该抗体。本研究确定流产史、养宠物情况、居住类型、婚姻状况、饮用水来源和饮食习惯是与弓形虫感染抗体存在相关的显著（P<0.05）风险因素。基于生活方式和文化，不同种族女性的血清流行率无显著差异（P>0.05）。
