Seroprevalence and potential root cause of toxoplasmosis in primary children; a study conducted at King Abdulaziz hospital

ABSTRACT

Background: Toxoplasmosis is a zoonosis with a high prevalence throughout the world. Toxoplasma gondii infection is frequently asymptomatic. Primary school children are particularly vulnerable to toxoplasmosis due to their habits of playing in water, soil, eating various raw foods, or contact with pets, including dogs, cats, and birds and hence they are an ideal target group to investigate T. gondii prevalence. Data collected from this age group can thus be used to assess whether T. gondii threatens the health of school-aged children, and also as a reference for evaluating the need for community interventions. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence rate of anti-toxoplasmosis IgG and IgM in Primary School children and to detect agents that increase prevalence of the disease