Abstract
The lifestyle, health and social status of the Roma are generally below the standards characteristic for the non-Roma population. This study aimed to find out the seropositivity to Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) in the population of Roma living in segregated settlements and to compare it with the prevalence of antibodies in the non-Roma population from the catchment area of eastern Slovakia. The seroprevalence of antibodies to T. gondii was significantly higher in the Roma group (45.0%) than in non-Roma inhabitants (24.1%). A statistically significant difference was also recorded between the two non-Roma groups in the study, 30.4% of those from the catchment area and 19.7% from the non-catchment area were seropositive. Univariate logistic regression confirmed poverty and higher age to be significant risk factors influencing the seropositivity to T. gondii. Of the clinical symptoms analyzed in the study, only muscle and back pain were associated with seropositivity to T. gondii. The close contact of Roma with an environment contaminated by different infectious agents and the insufficient hygiene, lower level of education, poverty, lack of water and household equipment and high number of domestic animals increase the risk of infectious diseases in the Roma settlements and subsequently the spread of communicable diseases at the national or even international level.
Highlights
Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that infects all warm-blooded animals and has worldwide occurrence
The first one comprised 158 persons living in rural areas in the vicinity of segregated settlements, and the second group was composed of 228 inhabitants living in the areas outside of segregated Roma communities, without a Roma population
806 persons were tested for the presence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies
Summary
Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that infects all warm-blooded animals and has worldwide occurrence. Members of the Felidae family, it has a sexual cycle, while in intermediate hosts it proliferates in a two-stage asexual cycle. The parasite is of medical and veterinary importance, as it can cause abortions and congenital diseases in infected intermediate hosts. T. gondii infection is common in humans, but the majority of cases in immunocompetent persons are asymptomatic, or various mild symptoms can be observed. If first contracted during pregnancy, T. gondii can be transmitted to the fetus and may cause abortion, neonatal death or fetal abnormalities [1]. Infection can be acquired by ingestion of infectious oocysts from the environment and water or by consumption of tissue cysts contained in raw or undercooked meat of infected intermediate hosts.
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