Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2016
Background: When a pregnant woman contracts Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection during pregnancy, it may be vertically transmitted to the foetus. Information on the incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis (CT) in developing countries is scarce. Most studies focus on the seroprevalence of T. gondii...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AOSIS
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://sajid.co.za/index.php/sajid/article/view/25 |
| _version_ | 1811311285760950272 |
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| author | Berta E. van der Colf Gert U. van Zyl Bruce H. Noden Dismas Ntirampeba |
| author_facet | Berta E. van der Colf Gert U. van Zyl Bruce H. Noden Dismas Ntirampeba |
| author_sort | Berta E. van der Colf |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: When a pregnant woman contracts Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection during pregnancy, it may be vertically transmitted to the foetus. Information on the incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis (CT) in developing countries is scarce. Most studies focus on the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among pregnant women. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among pregnant women attending public antenatal care in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2016.
Methods: In this descriptive study, 344 urban pregnant women attending public antenatal care were voluntarily enrolled in the study. Seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii Immunoglobulin G (IgG) was determined by automated immunoassay. Samples with a positive T. gondii IgG result were tested for T. gondii Immunoglobulin M (IgM) and specific IgG avidity by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. A questionnaire captured demographic data and exposure to risk factors. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and R.
Results: Anti-T. gondii IgG was found in nine (2.61%) pregnant women. There was no association of anti-T. gondii IgG with demographic characteristics or exposure to risk factors.Anti-T. gondii IgM was positive in one (0.3%) woman, while three (0.9%) women had borderline anti-T. gondii IgM results. Specific IgG avidity was low, equivocal and high in 0%, 33% and 67% of seropositive pregnant women, respectively.
Conclusion: Seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG is much lower in Namibia than is reported in other developing countries. Investigation into specific IgM seropositivity and IgG avidity showed that pregnant women in the central region of Namibia are at low risk of vertical transmission and development of CT. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:16:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-428ecf65357448648e7b16f4e14f6bad |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2312-0053 2313-1810 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:16:09Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases |
| spelling | doaj.art-428ecf65357448648e7b16f4e14f6bad2022-12-22T02:50:43ZengAOSISSouthern African Journal of Infectious Diseases2312-00532313-18102020-05-01351e1e710.4102/sajid.v35i1.25140Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2016Berta E. van der Colf0Gert U. van Zyl1Bruce H. Noden2Dismas Ntirampeba3Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, WindhoekDivision of Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape TownDepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Oklahoma State University, StillwaterDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, WindhoekBackground: When a pregnant woman contracts Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection during pregnancy, it may be vertically transmitted to the foetus. Information on the incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis (CT) in developing countries is scarce. Most studies focus on the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among pregnant women. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among pregnant women attending public antenatal care in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2016. Methods: In this descriptive study, 344 urban pregnant women attending public antenatal care were voluntarily enrolled in the study. Seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii Immunoglobulin G (IgG) was determined by automated immunoassay. Samples with a positive T. gondii IgG result were tested for T. gondii Immunoglobulin M (IgM) and specific IgG avidity by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. A questionnaire captured demographic data and exposure to risk factors. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and R. Results: Anti-T. gondii IgG was found in nine (2.61%) pregnant women. There was no association of anti-T. gondii IgG with demographic characteristics or exposure to risk factors.Anti-T. gondii IgM was positive in one (0.3%) woman, while three (0.9%) women had borderline anti-T. gondii IgM results. Specific IgG avidity was low, equivocal and high in 0%, 33% and 67% of seropositive pregnant women, respectively. Conclusion: Seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG is much lower in Namibia than is reported in other developing countries. Investigation into specific IgM seropositivity and IgG avidity showed that pregnant women in the central region of Namibia are at low risk of vertical transmission and development of CT.https://sajid.co.za/index.php/sajid/article/view/25toxoplasma gondiitoxoplasmosisseroprevalenceigg aviditypregnant womennamibia. |
| spellingShingle | Berta E. van der Colf Gert U. van Zyl Bruce H. Noden Dismas Ntirampeba Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2016 Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases toxoplasma gondii toxoplasmosis seroprevalence igg avidity pregnant women namibia. |
| title | Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2016 |
| title_full | Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2016 |
| title_fullStr | Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2016 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2016 |
| title_short | Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2016 |
| title_sort | seroprevalence of toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in windhoek namibia in 2016 |
| topic | toxoplasma gondii toxoplasmosis seroprevalence igg avidity pregnant women namibia. |
| url | https://sajid.co.za/index.php/sajid/article/view/25 |
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