Korean J Parasitol.  2017 Feb;55(1):99-103. 10.3347/kjp.2017.55.1.99.

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii among HIV Patients in Jahrom, Southern Iran

Affiliations
  • 1Zoonoses Research Center, School of Medicine, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran.
  • 2Department of Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran.
  • 3Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran. ahvasmehjani@gmail.com
  • 4Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is an important opportunistic agent especially in immunocompromised hosts and can cause significant morbidity and mortality. Hence, detection and monitoring of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies are of a great interest in HIV-infected patients. A study on the prevalence of toxoplasmosis and associated risk factors was carried out among HIV-infected patients in Jahrom, southern Iran. The prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies was 21.1% in HIV-infected patients by ELISA. PCR was performed on all of the samples, and 1 of the blood samples was positively detected. Among the HIV patients, anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies were significantly higher in age group of 30-39 years old (P=0.05). The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in patients with CD4+<100 cells/μl was 33.3% that was significantly higher than the other groups (P=0.042) with or without IgG antibodies. The CD4+ count mean of seropositive patients was lower than that of seronegative patients. The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in patients with highly active antiretroviral therapy was significantly less than patients without therapy (P=0.02). In conclusion, this study showed low seroprevalence of latent toxoplasmosis among HIV-infected patients in the region and confirmed the need for intensifying prevention efforts among this high-risk population and also the risk of toxoplasmosis reactivation which could be important among this population.

Keyword

Toxoplasma gondii; HIV patient; seroprevalence; PCR; IgG; Jahrom; Iran

MeSH Terms

Antibodies
Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active
CD4 Lymphocyte Count
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
HIV*
Humans
Immunocompromised Host
Immunoglobulin G
Iran*
Mortality
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Seroepidemiologic Studies*
Toxoplasma*
Toxoplasmosis
Antibodies
Immunoglobulin G
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