Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
Pan Afr Med J. 2022 May 26;42:72. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2022.42.72.32877. eCollection 2022.
toxoplasmosis is an opportunistic protozoan disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection. It affects all human ages, including children, and can pose serious health problems, particularly in developing countries. Nevertheless, the epidemiological status of neonatal and childhood toxoplasmosis remains largely unknown in Saudi Arabia. The present study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among Saudi babies residing in Jeddah Region of Saudi Arabia.
this hospital-based retrospective study was conducted between January 2019 and March 2021 at three governmental hospitals in Jeddah Region: King Fahad, King Abdulaziz, and East Jeddah Hospital. It included 502 babies (269 boys and 233 girls; 0-4 years old), who were screened by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of anti-T. gondii immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies in their serum.
among the 502 studied babies, the overall seropositivity rate of T. gondii infection was 18.53% (93/502) subscribed as 90 babies (17.9%) with IgG seropositive and 3 babies (0.60%) with IgM seropositivity. The all IgG seropositive babies were IgM seronegative and vice versa. Additionally, the highest proportion of IgG seropositivity was detected in 0-6 month old babies (7.17%); followed by 5.38% and 4.98% in 7-12 and 13-18 months old babies, respectively, while the 3 babies with IgM seropositivity were 13-18 months old.
the present findings highlighted the seroprevalence situation of toxoplasma infection among babies in some Saudi communities and raise the importance to increase the screening programs and preventative implements against toxoplasmosis in Saudi Arabia.
弓形虫病是一种由刚地弓形虫（Toxoplasma gondii，T. gondii）感染引起的机会性原生动物病。它影响所有年龄段的人，包括儿童，可能会造成严重的健康问题，尤其是在发展中国家。然而，沙特阿拉伯新生儿和儿童弓形虫病的流行病学状况在很大程度上仍不清楚。本研究旨在确定沙特阿拉伯吉达地区居住的沙特婴儿的弓形虫感染血清流行率。
这是一项基于医院的回顾性研究，于 2019 年 1 月至 2021 年 3 月在吉达地区的三家政府医院进行：法赫德国王医院、阿卜杜勒阿齐兹国王医院和东吉达医院。它包括 502 名婴儿（269 名男孩和 233 名女孩；0-4 岁），通过酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测他们血清中的抗弓形虫免疫球蛋白 G（IgG）和免疫球蛋白 M（IgM）抗体。
在 502 名研究婴儿中，弓形虫感染的总血清阳性率为 18.53%（93/502），其中 90 名婴儿（17.9%）IgG 血清阳性，3 名婴儿（0.60%）IgM 血清阳性。所有 IgG 血清阳性的婴儿 IgM 血清均为阴性，反之亦然。此外，0-6 个月大的婴儿中 IgG 血清阳性率最高（7.17%）；7-12 个月和 13-18 个月大的婴儿分别为 5.38%和 4.98%，而 3 名 IgM 血清阳性的婴儿为 13-18 个月大。
本研究结果强调了沙特某些社区婴儿弓形虫感染的血清流行情况，并提出了在沙特阿拉伯增加弓形虫病筛查计划和预防措施的重要性。
