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allied
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J Parasit Dis Diagn Ther 2017
Volume 2 Issue 3
Tropical Medicine 2017
Notes:
Page 18
September 7-8, 2017 | Edinburgh, Scotland
4
th
International Conference on
Tropical Medicine, Infectious Diseases & Public Health
SEROPREVALANCE OF TOXOPLASMOSIS AND
RISK FACTORS OF TOXOPLASMA GONDII
INFECTION AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN
SRI LANKA
S M P Vithana
a
, D Iddawela
a
and
C Ratnayake
a
a
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
T
oxoplasma gondii
is an intracellular protozoan infecting
humans and animals. Infection in adults commonly
causes mild disease but greater importance lies in preventing
transplacetal transmission which may result in major foetal
anomalies and is vital to identify infection in pregnancy. Research
on this regard in Sri Lanka is scarce and would be beneficial in
developing antenatal care strategies for improved foetal outcome.
A random sample of 534 pregnant women attending antenatal
care in Teaching Hospital Peradeniya from 2010 to 2013 was
recruited for this study. Blood samples were tested for
Toxoplasma
gondii
IgG and IgM antibodies from the participants by using
a commercial ELISA kit with a cut-off OD value of >1 and a
structured questionnaire was used to identify the exposure to risk.
Among the participants 159 (29.8%) were positive for
T. gondii
IgG antibodies and none were IgM positive. The seroprevalance
in the first, second and third trimesters were 30.4%, 30.6% and
26.1% respectively. Of the risk factors studied, preparation and
selling raw meat (p=0.05) and household gardening (p=0.01)
were significant whereas the presence of domesticated cats and
dogs, eating locally produced meat or dairy products did not
show significant associations. Seroprevalance of
T. gondii
present
among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Peradeniya
was 29.8% indicating high level of transmission among the
study population. However 70.2% of the study population were
seronegative and were susceptible to primary acute infection
during pregnancy and possible foetal anomalies. Therefore
implementing health education especially on the aforementioned
risk factors is recommended.
Biography
Dr. Sanura Vithana completed his primary and secondary education at the
prestigious Trinity College Kandy and obtained his MBBS from the University
of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka in 2017. He currently works in the Department of
Parasitology in the same institution as a Temporary Lecturer. His academic
interests are clinical medicine and surgery, tropical medicine and toxicology.
san_mp01@hotmail.comS M P Vithana et al., J Parasit Dis Diagn Ther 2017