Stopić Milena, Štajner Tijana, Marković-Denić Ljiljana, Nikolić Vladimir, Djilas Iva, Srzentić Snežana Jovanović, Djurković-Djaković Olgica, Bobić Branko
National Reference Laboratory for Toxoplasmosis, Group for Microbiology and Parasitology, Center of Excellence for Food- and Vector-Borne Zoonoses, Institute for Medical Research, National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, 11129 Belgrade, Serbia.
Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
Microorganisms. 2022 Feb 23;10(3):492. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10030492.
Toxoplasmosis is a globally distributed parasitic zoonosis, affecting approximately one third of the human population. Epidemiological studies on toxoplasmosis conducted in Serbia so far have been focused on women of childbearing age, without a clear insight into the prevalence in the general population. We conducted a cross-sectional study in a representative sample of the healthy adult population consisting of 1095 blood donors of both genders to establish the prevalence and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection. Data on the demographic and clinical characteristics of all study participants, as well as on their lifestyle habits, were collected by means of a questionnaire. The overall prevalence of infection was 20.5% (224/1095) and the avidity of the specific IgG antibodies detected was high in a vast majority of the seropositive donors (98.2%). Interestingly, the remaining 1.8% of the specific IgG positive samples were of borderline avidity (4/224), in complete absence of specific IgM. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that independent risk factors included age (from OR (95% CI) 1.9 (1.13−3.28) in the 30−39 age group, to 6.8 (3.27−14.24) in the age group of >60 years), suburban living (OR (95% CI) 2.2 (1.43−3.34)) and contact with soil (OR (95% CI) 1.4 (1.01−1.94)). This first large-scale study on toxoplasmosis in the general population in Serbia shows the lowest prevalence ever reported in this country. Moreover, the novel perspective on risk factors provides an updated basis for future prevention programs.
弓形虫病是一种全球分布的寄生虫人畜共患病，影响着约三分之一的人口。迄今为止，在塞尔维亚进行的关于弓形虫病的流行病学研究主要集中在育龄妇女，而没有深入了解普通人群中的患病率。我们对1095名男女献血者组成的健康成年人群代表性样本进行了横断面研究，以确定弓形虫感染的患病率和危险因素。通过问卷调查收集了所有研究参与者的人口统计学和临床特征以及生活方式习惯的数据。感染的总体患病率为20.5%（224/1095），在绝大多数血清阳性献血者中检测到的特异性IgG抗体亲和力较高（98.2%）。有趣的是，其余1.8%的特异性IgG阳性样本为临界亲和力（4/224），完全没有特异性IgM。多因素逻辑回归分析表明，独立危险因素包括年龄（30-39岁年龄组的比值比（95%置信区间）为1.9（1.13-3.28），60岁以上年龄组为6.8（3.27-14.24））、居住在郊区（比值比（95%置信区间）为2.2（1.43-3.34））和接触土壤（比值比（95%置信区间）为1.4（1.01-1.94））。这项关于塞尔维亚普通人群弓形虫病的首次大规模研究显示了该国迄今为止报告的最低患病率。此外，对危险因素的新观点为未来的预防计划提供了更新的依据。
