Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii among healthy blood donors in two locations in Tunisia and associated risk factors

• Published in: Parasite (Paris) Vol. 27; p. 51
• Main Authors: Lachkhem, Arwa, Lahmar, Ibtissem, Galal, Lokman, Babba, Oussama, Mezhoud, Habib, Hassine, Mohssen, Lachkhem, Ahmed, Dardé, Marie-Laure, Mercier, Aurélien, Babba, Hamouda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: France EDP Sciences 2020
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies; Antibodies, Protozoan - blood; Blood & organ donations; Blood donors; Blood Donors - statistics & numerical data; Blood transfusion; Cats; Confidence intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Epidemiology; Female; Humans; Hygiene; Immunoassays; Immunofluorescence; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunoglobulin M; Immunoglobulin M - blood; Infections; Life Sciences; Multivariate analysis; Parasites; Protozoa; Questionnaires; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Serology; seroprevalence; Special Issue – One Health: A social science discussion of a global agenda. Invited Editors: Jean Estebanez & Pascal Boireau; Toxoplasma - immunology; Toxoplasma gondii; Toxoplasmosis - epidemiology; Transfusion; tunisia; Tunisia - epidemiology; Urban environments; Tunisia; Toxoplasma gondii; Tunisia; Blood donors; Risk factors; Seroprevalence
• ISSN: 1776-1042; 1252-607X; 1776-1042
• DOI: 10.1051/parasite/2020049

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that can be transmitted to humans through a variety of routes including blood transfusion. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection and associated risk factors in healthy blood donors in Tunisia. A total of 800 healthy blood donors from two blood centers in south and coastal Tunisia were analyzed for anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISA), respectively. Structured questionnaires were used to gather information on risk factors for T. gondii infection during collection. The overall seroprevalence was 44.4% of which 352 (44%) and 3 (0.4%) were positive for IgG and both IgG and IgM anti-T. gondii antibodies, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that T. gondii seropositivity was significantly associated with the birth place (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.72; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.49-4.94) and the age of the donors (adjusted OR = 4.98; 95% CI: 1.50-16.58) which are independent risk factors. In addition, the variables of hand washing before eating (adjusted OR = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.37-0.74) and living in an urban environment (adjusted OR = 0.30; 95% CI: 0.13-0.71) are two protective factors. This study provided the first data on the seroprevalence and epidemiology of T. gondii infection in healthy blood donors in Tunisia.