Korean J Parasitol.  1999 Mar;37(1):27-32. 10.3347/kjp.1999.37.1.27.

Toxoplasma gondii antibody titers in sera of children admitted to the Seoul National University Children's Hospital

• Kook J
• Lee HJ
• Kim BI
• Yun CK
• Guk SM
• Seo M
• Park YK
• Hong ST
• Chai JY

• KMID: 1715280
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.1999.37.1.27

Abstract

A total of 542 children under 10 years of age, admitted to the Seoul National University Children's Hospital, was examined for antibody titers of Toxoplasma gondii using indirect latex agglutination (ILA) test. Among them, 7.7% showed positive titers higher than 1:32, without significant difference between males (7.3%) and females (8.5%). The seropositive rate increased with age although the statistical significance was negligible (0.05 < P < 0.1). By residential areas, the prevalence appeared higher among children from southern provinces (Kyongsang-do and Cholla do) than those from other areas, but the statistical significance was also very low (0.05 < P < 0.1). When the seropositive cases were analyzed by coincidental diseases, the prevalence was significantly higher in patients with congenital diseases than in patients with non-congenital diseases (P < 0.05). The results showed that the seropositive rate of toxoplasmosis in children examined was not high compared with other endemic countries. Some correlations are suggested between toxoplasmosis and congenital anomalies in Korea.

MeSH Terms

Animal
Antibodies, Protozoan/blood*
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Human
Infant
Korea/epidemiology
Latex Fixation Tests
Male
Prevalence
Seroepidemiologic Studies
Toxoplasma/immunology*
Toxoplasmosis/epidemiology*