%0 Journal Article
%T Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Associated Risk Factors among People Living with HIV at Gondar University Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia
%A Dagnachew Muluye
%A Yitayih Wondimeneh
%A Yeshambel Belyhun
%A Feleke Moges
%A Mengistu Endris
%A Getachew Ferede
%A Gashaw Yitayew
%A Digsu Negese
%J ISRN Tropical Medicine
%D 2013
%R 10.1155/2013/123858
%X Background. Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite and is a major opportunistic pathogen in immune-compromised hosts. This study assessed the prevalence of T. gondii and associated risk factors among people living with HIV. Methods and Materials. A cross-sectional study was carried out among people living with HIV attending Gondar University Hospital. A structured and pretested questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic factors, and 10mL of venous blood was collected for anti-Toxoplasma antibody test and determination of CD4 levels. Serum was tested in duplicate for anti-Toxoplasma antibody using rapid slide agglutination test. Results. A total of 170 study subjects were enrolled in the study. Seroprevalence of T. gondii among the study participants was 76.5% (95% CI: 69.0¨C82.8). High proportions of seropositive individuals (64.7%) were found under the child bearing age groups. The mean CD4+ lymphocyte count of HIV monoinfected participants was cells/mm3 while coinfected study participants had mean CD4+ lymphocyte count of cells/mm3 with value of 0.01. Conclusion. The seroprevalence of T. gondii among people living with HIV was high. Cautious followup of HIV-positive patients is needed to prevent development of toxoplasmic encephalitis and other related complications. 1. Introduction Toxoplasma gondii£¿£¿is an obligate intracellular protozoan of worldwide distribution and is a major opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised hosts. Infection is mainly acquired by ingestion of food, water or soil that is contaminated with oocysts shed by cats or by eating undercooked or raw meat containing tissue cysts [1]. Toxoplasmosis in patients with AIDS is usually the result of reactivation of latent infection. In HIV-positive people, without previous exposure to T. gondii, the acute infection could not be well controlled and in these susceptible hosts a wide range of infections is expected [2]. Toxoplasmosis occurs mostly in brain that is the frequent clinical finding [3, 4] even in patients with latent toxoplasmosis. Seroprevalence varies greatly in geographical regions within a country and within different ethnic groups according to different environments, social customs, and habits of different populations [5, 6]. There is wide geographic variation in the prevalence of latent Toxoplasma infection. Studies from Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa have reported a range of prevalence estimates of 30%¨C75% and prevalence estimates from US studies have had a range of 3%¨C42% [7, 8]. Worldwide prevalence rate of latent Toxoplasma
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.tropical.medicine/2013/123858/