Epidemiology of toxoplasmosis in Kuwait. I. Detection of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii and percentage distribution among the inhabitants.

Of 246 people living in Kuwait and selected at random, 95.5% gave a positive reaction to the indirect haemagglutination test for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii, of whom approximately 34% had medium to high titres (1:128 to 1:4096). There was no obvious difference between the proportion of females and males who had been infected. Approximately double the proportion of people in the age groups 20 to 31 and 32 to 43 years had medium to high titres compared with those in other age groups. Even between the former two groups, the percentage with the highest titres (1:512 to 1:4096) declined with age; none was found in the oldest group. When analysed in terms of nationalities, the pattern of results obtained with a small group of Bedouins, where most had medium to high titres, was the opposite of that found with urban Kuwaitis and people of other nationalities. It is suggested that the Bedouins may be particularly prone to the infection.