STUDY OF RISK FACTORS FOR TOXOPLASMA GONDII INFECTION IN PREGNANT AND NON-PREGNANT WOMEN IN WESTERN REGION OF LIBYA: USING QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the occurrence of risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection amongst pregnant and non-pregnant women at Sabratha Teaching Hospital and Surman Clinic. The study included cities from the Western region of Libya (Sabratha, Surman, El-Ajelat, Motred, Abo essa, Al-Sabreya and Tripoli). A total of 65 women, 41 pregnant and 24 non-pregnant with the average age from 20 and over 41 years were included in this study. Interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire survey. The water consumed level originated from treated water (50.8%), mineral water (36.9%), wells water (10.8%) and taps water (1.5%). The majority (87.7%) consumed Chicken meat more often, whilst (53.8%) consumed Beef, thoroughly cooked meat was preferred by (87.7%). Few (1.5%) used gloves when dealing with meat. All respondents washed fruits and vegetables before consumption, consumed milk was (66.2%) of the women, while (10.8%) preferred unpasteurized milk. Only (4.6%) of women owned cats, whilst 6.2% handling them, and 33.8% were in contact with soil. (47.6%) has O blood type. 63.1% of total respondents were pregnant women, of them 70% were aborted previously one time and 14.8% were aborted two times, 11% were aborted three times and 3.7% were aborted four times. The majority of them had some knowledge about toxoplasmosis but few known of the transmission mechanism. Also the study revealed that (3.70%) of aborted respondents was owning cats or dogs, 40.7% of them were dealing with soil and all previously aborted respondents were not using gloves while handling meat. Comparison between previous abortion incidences and consumption of milk showed that 70.4% of aborted women were consumed milk daily, and regarding water sources 55.6% of aborted respondents consumed treated water and 18.5% of them consumed wells or taps water. Knowledge of these risk factors will help to reduce and prevent toxoplasmosis. The study needs further health education to increase awareness of risk factors of toxoplasmosis.