Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnant women in a public hospital in northern Mexico

BACKGROUND: Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection in pregnant women represents a risk for congenital disease. There is scarce information about the epidemiology of T. gondii infection in pregnant women in Mexico. Therefore, we sought to determine the prevalence of T. gondii infection and associated socio-demographic, clinical and behavioural characteristics in a population of pregnant women of Durango City, Mexico. METHODS: Three hundred and forty three women seeking prenatal care in a public hospital of Durango City in Mexico were examined for T. gondii infection. All women were tested for anti-T. gondii IgM and IgG antibodies by using IMx Toxo IgM and IMx Toxo IgG 2.0 kits (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL, USA), respectively. Socio-demographic, clinical and behavioural characteristics from each participant were also obtained. RESULTS: Twenty one out of the 343 (6.1%) women had IgG anti-T. gondii antibodies. None of the 343 women had IgM anti-T. gondii antibodies. Multivariate analysis using logic regression showed that T. gondii infection was associated with living in a house with soil floor (adjusted OR = 7.16; 95% CI: 1.39–36.84), residing outside of Durango State (adjusted OR = 4.25; 95% CI: 1.72–10.49), and turkey meat consumption (adjusted OR = 3.85; 95% CI: 1.30–11.44). Other characteristics as cat contact, gardening, and food preferences did not show any association with T. gondii infection. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of T. gondii infection in pregnant women of Durango City is low as compared with those reported in other regions of Mexico and the majority of other countries. Poor housing conditions as soil floors, residing in other Mexican States, and turkey meat consumption might contribute to acquire T. gondii infection

Prevalence of Coxiella burnetii antibodies among febrile patients in Croatia, 2008-2010

Despite the widespread distribution of Q fever, the prevalence in humans is not accurately known, because many infected people seroconvert without symptoms or with a mild febrile disease. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Q fever in different regions of Croatia. During a 2-year period (2008-2010), serum samples from 552 febrile patients with prolonged cough aged 1-88 were tested for the presence of Coxiella burnetii antibodies by using indirect immunofluorescent assay. Sera from 27.5% patients showed IgG antibodies. Serological evidence of C. burnetii infection was found in patients from all parts of Croatia. Seroprevalence rates significantly differed among regions from 21.5% to 41.2% (p=0.001). Men were more often seropositive (31.6%) than women (22.2%; p=0.016). According to age, a progressive increase in the IgG seropositivity rates was observed as ranging from 6.7% in children less than 10 years of age to 39.2% in patients aged 40-49 (p=0.001). Above the age of 50, the IgG seroprevalence remained stable. Patients from rural areas were more often seropositive than patients from urban areas (40.8% vs. 19%), p<0.001). Acute Q fever was confirmed in 5.8% of patients. Cases occurred throughout the year. A majority of cases were reported during summer months

Phlebovirus and Leishmania Detection in Sandflies from Eastern Thrace and Northern Cyprus

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