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Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii Infection and Characteristics of Seropositive Patients in General Hospitals in Daejeon, Korea

2009; Korean Society for Parasitology; Volume: 47; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3347/kjp.2009.47.2.125

1738-0006

Dae‐Whan Shin, Dong-Yeub Cha, Quan Juan Hua, Guang‐Ho Cha, Young‐Ha Lee,

Parasitic Infections and Diagnostics

To figure out the epidemiological status and relevance with other diseases in toxoplasmosis, we checked serum IgG antibody titers of 1,265 patients and medical records of seropositive patients. Seropositive rates were 6.6% by latex agglutination test (LAT) and 6.7% by ELISA. No significant differences were detected between sexes and age groups. The peak seroprevalence was detected in the 40-49-year-old age group. According to clinical department, Toxoplasma-positive rates were high in patients in psychiatry, ophthalmology, health management, emergency medicine, and thoracic surgery. Major coincidental diseases in seropositive cases were malignant neoplasms, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, chronic hepatitis B, chronic renal diseases, schizophrenia, and acute lymphadenitis, in the order of frequency. In particular, some patients with chronic hepatitis B and malignant neoplasms had high antibody titers. These results revealed that the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in a general hospital-based study was similar to that in a community-based study, and T. gondii seropositivity may be associated with neoplasms, diabetes, and other chronic infections. Key words: Toxoplasma gondii, comorbidity, general hospital, seroprevalence, Daejeon