Seroprevalence and risk factor of toxoplasmosis in schizophrenia patients referred to Grhasia Psychiatric Hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Background: Toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by protozoan parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular protozoan parasite belong to phylum Apicomplexa, is an obligate parasite in mammals. The active proliferating trophozoites or tachyzoites are usually seen in the acute stage of infection, while the resting bradyzoites formed tissue cysts are primary found in muscle and brain. Human infection occurs mainly by ingesting food or water contaminated with oocyst or eating an undercook meat containing tissue cyst. Human might be infected via blood transfusion, organ transplantation or transplacenta transmission. Schizophrenia is a complex neuropsychiatric disease of the central nervous system, which contributing to behavioral changes which may resulted in higher risk to T. gondii infection. The purpose of this study were to know difference of seroprevalence and risk factor of toxoplasmosis between schizophrenia group and control group.