Introduction: Toxoplasma gondii is an important zoonotic protozoan parasite that can
infect man and animals. The pathogen can infect the fetus by congenital transmission
during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to investigate T. gondii infection in people
referred to health care centers in northern and central regions of Iran.
Materials and methods: Serum samples from 712 individuals in Mazandaran, Isfahan and
ChaharmahalvaBakhtiari provinces, Iran, were examined for the levels of anti-T. Gondii
IgG by ELISA. Prevalence of T. gondii infection in respect of gender and age was
analyzed.
Results: The overall anti-T. gondii IgG prevalence in the study population was 72.05%. In
Mazandaran, Isfahan and ChaharmahalvaBakhtiari provinces,in male population
respectively 87.6, 41.46 and 61.81% and in female population respectively 89.31, 47.61
and 64.44% were sero-positive with anti-T. gondii IgG. Sero-prevalance of anti-T.gondii
IgG in the females was higher than in the males in the northern and central regions of Iran.
Discussion and conclusion:The present study demonstrates high prevalence of
Toxoplasma infection in northern and central regions of Iran and a higher prevalence of T.
gondii infection was observed in females. Significant difference in infection rate between
individuals living in northern and central areas in Iran was found (p <0.05), which
indicated that T. gondii infection is dependent on living places. Deeper investigations for
the potential risk factors that threat the Iranian populations, especially female are
recommended
