HIV Insight: High Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii Antibody in HIV/AIDS Individuals from North of Iran

BACKGROUND:

Toxoplasmosis in immunocompetent people is generally asymptomatic but in immunocompromised patients including HIV/AIDS, cancer patients, and organ transplant recipients, etc. it can lead to serious pathological problems. The objective of current study was to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies in HIV/AIDS patients using ELISA technique in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran.

METHODS:

Overall, 82 serum samples (61 males and 21 females) were collected from HIV/AIDS patients in Mazandaran Provinces, in 2013. Sera were surveyed employing ELISA assay. Data were analyzed using Chi-Square or Fisher exact test. In addition, before sampling a questionnaire was filled out for each subject.

RESULTS:

Overall seroprevalence of examined sera was 96.3% for IgG antibody but none of the sera shown IgM antibody against T. gondii. The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in males and females was 96.7% and 95.2%, respectively. An antibody titer of >1 IU/ml was considered as positive. Furthermore, none of the included variables statistically was significant.

CONCLUSIONS:

Seroprevalence of chronic (latent) toxoplasmosis in HIV/AIDS patients in Mazandaran Province is high compared to toxoplasmosis in general population. Consequently, the risk of acquiring Toxoplasma encephalitis in examined seropositive HIV/AIDS patients of Toxoplasma is high.

Below: Map of Iran. Mazandaran Province is indicated by green and cities are shown with different colors

Demographic and baseline characteristics of 82 HIV/AIDS patients for detection of T. gondii IgG antibody

Demographic & baseline characteristics	Total number	Toxoplasma positive number (%)	P -Value
Sex			0.59
Male	61	59 (96.7)
Female	21	20 (95.2)
Age group (yr)
≤20	2	2 (100)	0.98
21–40	49	48 (97.9)
41–60	29	27 (93.1)
60<	2	2 (100)
Mode of HIV transmission			0.79
Sexual	32	31(96.8)
Injection	42	40(95.2)
Others	8	8(100)
Cat owner			0.67
yes	10	10 (100)
No	72	69 (95.8)
Under cooked meat consumption			0.67
yes	10	8 (80)
No	72	71 (98.6)
Row vegetable consumption			0.50
yes	65	65 (100)
No	17	14 (82.3)
Taking immunosuppressant drugs			0.29
yes	9	8 (88.8)
No	73	71 (97.2)
Duration of HIV/AIDS infection (yr)			0.83
<1	13	12 (92.3)
1–5	35	34 (97.1)
5–10	29	28 (96.5)
>10	5	5 (100)
History of Toxoplasma test			0.13
yes	20	20 (100)
No	62	59 (95.1)

Full article at: http://goo.gl/QzhliS

By: Rahimi MT1, Mahdavi SA2, Javadian B2, Rezaei R3, Moosazadeh M4, Khademlou M5, Seyedpour SH5, Syadatpanah A6.

1Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
2Amol Faculty of Paramedics, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
3Amol Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
4Health Sciences Research Center, School of Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
5Health Center Province, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
6Dep. of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Iran J Parasitol. 2015 Oct-Dec;10(4):584-9.