title: A seroepidemiological study of toxoplasma gondii infection in children of northern Greece.
abstract: The aims of this study were to determine the incidence of toxoplasmosis in children ofthe northern Greece region through the evaluation of serologic examination. Sera of 486 children, aged between 6 months and 15 years, suffering from different clinical entities, were tested for anti-Toxoplasma gondii specific IgG antibodies, using an ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) technique. In this survey, a high percentage (11.1 percent) of the hospitalized children reacted positively to this method. Males and females had equal prevalence, 11 percent and 11.2 percent, respectively. Seropositivity rate was higher in children aged between 6 and 10 years old. In conclusion, our results indicate toxoplasma infection is an important public health problem affecting children and adolescents in northern Greece. We believe that the study described here could be considered for inclusion in existing national screening programs for hospitalized children.
authors.affiliation: Dept. Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: S
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authors.lastname: Frydas
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authors.lastname: Theodoridis
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authors.lastname: Rallis
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authors.lastname: Adamama - Moraitou
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authors.lastname: Di Gioacchino
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authors.lastname: Di Gioacchino
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authors.lastname: Cavallucci
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authors.lastname: Ciuffreda
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authors.lastname: Raimondo
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authors.lastname: Sciascio
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authors.lastname: Di Stefano
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authors.lastname: Romano
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authors.lastname: Boscolo