title: Seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM among individuals who were referred to medical laboratories in Mazandaran province, northern Iran.
abstract: Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a protozoan parasite that can cause toxoplasmosis in humans. However, there is no current data regarding Toxoplasma infection among individuals who were referred to medical laboratories in Mazandaran province (northern Iran). Therefore, we performed a population-based study of Toxoplasma seroprevalence in this region. A total of 1832 sera samples (from 654 men and 1178 women) were collected from people who were referred to medical laboratories in different cities throughout Mazandaran province between March and July 2012. The serum titers of anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG was 55.5%; and 14.4% of the positive samples were seropositive for anti-Toxoplasma IgM. The highest seroprevalence was observed among people who were >50 years old (90.6%), and the lowest seroprevalence was observed among children who were 0-9 years old (9.4%; P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the seroprevalences for each sex in the study population. However, a regional sex-specific difference in seroprevalence was observed between men (54.1%) and women (70.6%; P=0.003) in the western cities of Mazandaran. As the seroprevalence of T. gondii in western and eastern Mazandaran was higher than that in the central cities, there is a need to evaluate the nature of the infection chain in these areas.
authors.affiliation: Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran; Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Sari Medical School, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sharif
authors.affiliation: Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran; Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Sari Medical School, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. Electronic address: daryanii@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Daryani
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Sari Medical School, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ebrahimnejad
authors.affiliation: Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran; Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Sari Medical School, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Shirzad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gholami
authors.affiliation: Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Ehsan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ahmadpour
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Sari Medical School, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Samaneh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Borhani
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Sari Medical School, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Narges
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lamsechi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood*; D007223:Infant; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014122:Toxoplasma; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M
keywords: Laboratory testing; Patient referral; Seroprevalence; Toxoplasma gondii; Toxoplasmosis