SEROEPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF TOXOPLASMOSIS IN BLOOD DONORS IN BABYLON PROVINCE ٌ

Abstract

Blood transfusion represents one of the transmission routes to toxoplasmosis. This study was designed to study the seroprevalance of toxoplasmosis in blood donor in Babylon province, 91 blood samples were collected from blood donors in the central blood bank in Babylon province during the period June _ September 2009. The seroprevalance of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies were detected using ELISA technique. In addition to that, the sociodemographic and behavior information were obtained from all blood donors that they included participated in this study. The results showed that of the 91 samples there were 26 (28.6%) positive sample for the anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies, of these positive samples there were 21 (23%) samples positive for anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies, while there were only one (1%) sample positive for anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgM antibodies, in addition to 4 (4.3%) samples were positive to both anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgM and IgG. Most of the positive samples were from Hilla, Qaseem and Mahaweel. The higher seroprevalance percentage (73.1%) was from urban area. The results showed a statistical correlation between the positive seroprevalance of toxoplasmosis and two factors; the occurrence of livestock and the consuming of vegetables from the local markets. According to this study the role of blood transfusion in the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis in Babylon province was concluded, and the serological test for toxoplasmosis is recommended as one of the routine test of blood donors.