Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii Infection Among Women of Reproductive Age in Birjand, Iran

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan of the Apicomplexa phylum with widespread distribution in animals and humans. Toxoplasma gondii is also an important cause of infectious diseases in women of reproductive age. Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibody and its associated risk factors among women of reproductive age referring to Birjand Comprehensive Health Center, East of Iran. Methods: A total of 300 serum samples were collected from women who were referred to Birjand Comprehensive Health Center to be screened for anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Analytical and descriptive statistics were carried out using SPSS software version 20. Descriptive statistics were reported as a percentage and mean (SD). The Chi-squared test was applied to assess the univariate association between independent variables and outcome. The significance level in the test was considered P < 0.05. Results: The results showed that 8.3% of the subjects with an average age of 27 years were IgG-positive. Contact with cats had a significant effect on positivity for IgG and disease frequency (P < 0.05). On the other hand, age and the place of residence (urban or rural) had no significant effect on disease frequency (P > 0.05). Urban or rural location in all age ranges had no significant effect on IgG positivity (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Considering the high percentage of T. gondii among negative people in the target population, it is necessary to inform women of the reproductive age about the importance of testing and health issues related to T. gondii.