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Salud Pública de México

Print version ISSN 0036-3634

Salud pública Méx vol.62 n.6 Cuernavaca Nov./Dec. 2020  Epub Aug 15, 2022

https://doi.org/10.21149/11443 

Cartas al editor

Seroprevalence of IgG and IgM anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and associated risks factors in pregnant women of northern Durango, Mexico

Seroprevalencia de anticuerpos IgG e IgM anti-Toxoplasma gondii y factores de riesgo asociados en mujeres embarazadas del norte de Durango, México

Rolando Adair Facio-Campos(1) 

Cosme Alvarado-Esquivel(2) 

Edgar Olivas-Calderon(1) 

(1) Laboratorio de Biología Celular y Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango. Durango, Mexico.

(2) Laboratorio de Investigación Biomédica, Facultad de Medicina y Nutrición, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango. Durango, Mexico.


Dear editor: Toxoplasmosis is caused by intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). T. gondii infection in pregnancy can result in serious consequences for the developing fetus or newborn, including spontaneous abortion, hydrocephalus, and even death.1 The infection could be acquired by ingestion of food (raw or uncooked meat from infected animals), direct contact with cat feces or soil contaminated with oocysts. In 2012, Caballero-Ortega and colleagues2 found an increase in the toxoplasmosis distribution in the north region (35%), finding the highest prevalence in coastal regions (67.5%) of Mexico. There is no historical data available about this seroprevalence, specifically of the Comarca Lagunera of Durango state. Moreover, previous study of T. gondii seroprevalence in Durango city showed that 6.1% of pregnant woman of urban areas and 8.2% of rural areas were found positives.3 In 2018, 434 pregnant women who used the Health Services of Durango state in the Comarca Lagunera region were studied with an average age of 22.2 years (± 5.95); we found four (0.92%) IgG and none (0.0%) IgM antibodies anti-T. gondii (table I). Consumption of dried meat (OR=16.5; 95%CI 1.7-161.48; p=0.01) and sheep and goat meat (OR=15.61; 95%CI 1.1-224.05; p=0.043) was associated factor to the infection. Number and different types of pets and cats was not associated with anti-T. gondii antibodies. The Comarca Lagunera of Durango being a cattle zone, frequently local meat is consumed in general, representing a possible risk factor. It is particularly interesting since this study’s seroprevalence was 0.91% in a small area of Durango state, differing from the global prevalence in the State. Probably, this results could be due to Durango state having a geographical diversity, Durango capital is located in a valley, unlike the Comarca Lagunera region, which is a semi-desert zone with high environmental temperature (up to 45 °C), that could explain the reduced survival of oocysts, which implies a subsequent investigation to this work.

Table I: Seroprevalence of IgG and IgM antibodies against T. gondii in patients users of the Health Services in the Sanitary Jurisdiction n° 2. Comarca Lagunera, Durango, Mexico, 2018 

Pregnant women n=434 Primiparous n=285 Multiparous n=149

IgG anti T. gondii

Positive n (%)

4 (0.91)

1 (0.23)

3 (0.69)

Negative n (%)

430 (99.09)

284 (65.43)

146 (33.64)

IgM anti T. gondii

Positive n (%)

0 (0)

0 (0)

0 (0)

Negative n (%)

434 (100)

285 (65.67)

149 (34.33)

References

Montoya JG, Liesenfeld O. Toxoplasmosis. Lancet. 2004;363(9425):1965-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)16412-X [ Links ]

Caballero-Ortega H, Uribe-Salas FJ, Conde-Glez CJ, Cedillo-Pelaez C, Vargas-Villavicencio JA, Luna-Pastén H,et al. Seroprevalence and national distribution of human toxoplasmosis in Mexico: analysis of the 2000 and 2006 National Health Surveys. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2012;106(11):653-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trstmh.2012.08.004 [ Links ]

Alvarado-Esquivel C, Sifuentes-Álvarez A, Narro-Duarte SG, Estrada-Martínez S, Díaz-García JH, Liesenfeld O,et al. Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnant women in a public hospital in northern Mexico. BMC Infect Dis. 2006;6:113. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-6-113 [ Links ]

Declaración de conflicto de intereses. Los autores declararon no tener conflicto de intereses.

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