Seroepidemiologic investigation of human Toxoplasma gondii infections in border areas of Yunnan Province, China / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To ascertain the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in different genders, ages, and ethnic populations of three border regions in Yunnan Province, China, in order to provide the basic data for prevention and control of toxoplasmosis in these areas. Methods A total of 561 serum samples were collected from the local hospitals of three border regions of Yunnan Province (222 serum samples from China-Vietnam border region, 170 serum samples from China-Laos border region, and 169 serum samples from China-Myanmar border region) from November 2015 to May 2016. The detection of IgG antibodies of T. gondii was performed by ELISA. Results In total, 44 (7.84%) of the 561 serum samples were anti-Toxoplasma IgG positive. The positive rates were 8.56% (19/222), 8.82% (15/170) and 5.92% (10/169) in China-Vietnam, China-Laos, and China-Myanmar border regions, respectively. The anti-Toxoplasma IgG positive rates were 5.63%(16/284) in Han, 10.96% (8/73) in Hani, 13.70% (10/73) in Dai, 4.17% (2/48) in Miao, 11.11% (1/9) in Lahu, 7.69% (1/13) in Jinuo, 12.00% (3/25) in Yao, and 11.11% (3/27) in Yi, respectively. The anti-Toxoplasma IgG positive rate in minorities was 10.11%, which was higher than that in Han significantly (χ2 = 3.884, P < 0.05), and the positive rate in Dai was higher than that in Han significantly (χ2 = 5.594, P < 0.05). The anti-Toxoplasma IgG positive rate in the 11-20-year age group was 23.53% (4/17), which was higher than that in the 0–10 [4.23% (3/71)] (χ2 = 4.593, P < 0.05) and 31–40-year groups [4.00% (3/75)] (χ2 = 4.997, P < 0.05). Conclusions There are different degrees of T. gondii infection in the human population in the border areas in Yunnan Province, and the risk of infection in ethnic minorities is higher than that in Han nationality. The prevention and control of toxoplasmosis should focus on the minority population.