Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic, zoonotic pathogen with a worldwide distribution. There are large variations in the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in different regions of the world. Although toxoplasmosis became a notifiable communicable disease in Taiwan in 2007, little is known about its epidemiology among the general population. This cross-sectional study aimed to survey the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection and its risk factors among healthy blood donors in Taiwan. Through collaborating with the Taiwan Blood Services Foundation, a total of 1,783 healthy blood donors from all six-branch blood service centers participated in this study. The blood samples were tested for the presence of T. gondii antibodies and DNA using enzyme immunoassays and real-time PCR, respectively. Structured questionnaires were used to gather information on risk factors for T. gondii infection. Of the 1,783 participants, 166 (9.3%) tested positive for anti-Toxoplasma IgG, while 5 (0.28%) tested positive for anti-Toxoplasma IgM. The five IgM positive donors had high avidity antibodies suggestive of past infection. No active parasitemia was detected by real-time PCR assays. Multivariate logistic regression showed that undercooked pork meat consumption (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.9; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.3–6.5), raw mussels consumption (adjusted OR = 5.3; 95% CI: 1.5–19.1), having a cat in the household (adjusted OR = 2.0; 95% CI: 1.2–3.2), a lower education level (adjusted OR = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.1–2.3), and donation place in eastern Taiwan (adjusted OR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.6–3.9) were independent risk factors for Toxoplasma seropositivity. These findings provide information on the seroprevalence and epidemiology of T. gondii infection among healthy blood donors in Taiwan.
Highlights
Toxoplasma gondii is a parasitic protozoan found throughout the world that can be carried by most species of warm blooded animals and infects nearly one-third of the world’s human population [1,2,3]
Previous studies on the seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies have focused on special groups, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults (10.2%) [9], pregnant women (9.1–11.6%) [10,11], and mountain aborigines (19.4%–26.7%) [12,13]; little is known about the epidemiology of T. gondii among the general population
This cross-sectional study aimed to survey the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection and associated risk factors among healthy blood donors in Taiwan
Summary
Toxoplasma gondii is a parasitic protozoan found throughout the world that can be carried by most species of warm blooded animals and infects nearly one-third of the world’s human population [1,2,3]. Previous studies on the seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies have focused on special groups, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected adults (10.2%) [9], pregnant women (9.1–11.6%) [10,11], and mountain aborigines (19.4%–26.7%) [12,13]; little is known about the epidemiology of T. gondii among the general population. This cross-sectional study aimed to survey the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection and associated risk factors among healthy blood donors in Taiwan. We collaborated with the Taiwan Blood Services Foundation, and a total of 1,783 healthy blood donors from all six branch blood service centers participated in this study
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