title: Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection among Chinese aboriginal and Han people residing in mountainous areas of northern Thailand.
abstract: A seroepidemiological survey of Toxoplasma gondii infection among Chinese refugees, including Akka and Yau aborigines and Han people living in mountainous areas at elevations of 1,100-1,400 m in Chiang-Rai Province of northern Thailand, was conducted during January 2003 using the latex agglutination test. The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was 9.1% for Akka aborigines, 37.9% for Yau aborigines, and 7.9% for Han people, respectively. No significant gender difference in seroprevalence was found among any of the groups (P > 0.05). The results of a multiple logistic regression analysis for Yau aborigines and Han people showed that the older the age, the higher the odds ratios (OR) of being seropositive (OR = 3.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.5 to 16.9, P < 0.001 and OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 0.3 to 8.0, P = 0.06 for the elderly group vs. the child group for the Yau aborigines and Han people, respectively). In contrast, the OR was lower among older Akka aboriginal populations (OR = 0.1, 95% CI = 0.0 to 0.4, P < 0.001). Ethnically, Yau aboriginal populations had a significantly higher seroprevalence than did the Akka aborigines and Han people (P < 0.001).
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, No. 250 Wu-Hsin Street, Taipei 110, Taiwan, Republic of China. tedfan@tmu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Chia-Kwung
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Chien-Wei
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Ming-Shuan
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Kua-Eyre
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Bor-Cheng
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000469:parasitology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012036:Refugees; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology*; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000208:ethnology*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan