Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among couples who intend marriage in Diyala Province

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. It is widespread throughout the world and affects most warm-blooded animals, including humans. The goal of this investigation was to investigate the prevalence of Toxoplasmosis among couples (males and females) who intended married, in addition to examined if there is any relationship between the toxoplasmosis and some socioeconomic characteristics. The current study has been conducted in Diyala Province during the period from March to August /2024. Blood samples were collected randomly from couples who attended Al-Zahraa Hospital and Baqubah teaching hospital. ELISA test was conducted for all samples (376) to detect the infection and determine the concentration of IgG and IgM specific antibodies. The results revealed the toxoplasma IgG males and females were higher than the toxoplasma IgM. The results also illustrated no significant differences in toxoplasma infection between males and females. The results also indicated that the highest prevalence of IgG and IgM was observed in the 20-29 years' age group, while there was no infection observed in the ≥ 40 years' age group. The level infection with Toxoplasma gondii in rural was higher than urban. Also the results showed that infection rate was more in people with high degree education than other educational levels. There still more immunological and socioeconomic factors need to be assessed in further studies in order to better understand the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in any community.