Detection of IgG antibody to Toxoplasma gondii in a sample of students from the Sabaa Abkar colleges Complex in Baghdad

Abstract

   Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa, is an obligate  of all nucleated cells, causing toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is a widespread communicable disease worldwide. Toxoplasmosis represents the most common recurrent primary opportunistic infection. T. gondii infection can also occur in patients with immunosuppression, autoimmune diseases, organ transplants, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The current study aimed to investigate the infection with Toxoplasma gondii among a group of students of the Sabaa Abkar Colleges Complex, Al-Mustansiriya University (College of Basic Education, College of Law, and College of Tourism Sciences) and evaluate some factors associated with infection such as gender, presence of cats, and smoking status. The study included collecting 275 blood samples for the period from the beginning of October 2023 to the end of March 2024, with ages ranging from 18-30 years. Information was taken from all study samples, including gender, residence, presence of cats, etc.

   All samples were tested using the Latex Agglutination Test (LA) and Rapid Cassette IgG, IgM Test to diagnose Toxoplasma gondii infection. The results of the latex test showed that 110 samples (40%) were positive, while 165 samples (60%) were negative. The results of the IgG test showed that 65 samples (24%) were positive, while 210 samples (76%) were negative. No positive results were recorded for the IgM antibody. The study also included some epidemiological factors associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection, including gender, as the prevalence of females was higher than males, with a percentage of 68% for females and 32% for males for the latex test. As for the IgG test, the percentage of females was 69%, which was higher than the percentage of males, which was 31%. According to the housing situation in light of the results of the latex and cassette tests for IgG, the highest percentage of infection with Toxoplasma gondii was in Baghdad, where it reached 74% according to the latex test and 38% based on the cassette test for IgG. The distribution of the examined samples under study and their percentages according to the presence of cats in the house or not, According  to  of  results  the latex and cassette tests for IgG, were not significant at a significance level of 0.05, as the chi-square value for the latex and cassette tests reached 0.024 and 0.003, respectively. The results of the distribution of the samples under study and their percentages according to the smoking status, showed the results of the latex and cassette tests for IgG, showed a significant difference between smokers and non-smokers, at a significance level of 0.005, based on the chi-square value, which reached 2.69 for the latex test and 2.52 for the cassette test.