Mehdi Zarean, Reza Shafiei
*, Maryam Gholami, Abdolmajid Fata, Mansour Rahmati Balaghaleh, Ashraf Karimi, Farahnaz Tehranian, Ali Hasani, Arash Akhavan
1 Department of Microbiology, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran,
2 Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran,
3 Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran,
4 Vector–borne Diseases Research Center, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran,
5 Student Research Committee, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran,
6 Research Center of Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, Khorasan Razavi, Mashhad, Iran,
7 Student Research Committee, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.
Abstract
Objective: The present investigation aims to evaluate the prevalence of IgM and IgG anti–T. gondii antibodies and the associated risk factors among healthy blood donors in Mashhad city, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran.
Methods: We screened a total of 500 serum samples by census method from apparently healthy blood donors of the Mashhad Blood Transfusion Organization (MBTO) for IgG and IgM anti–T. gondii antibodies by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Results: We found that 29.6%, 25%, 1.4%, and 3.2% of tested donors were positive for anti–T. gondii antibodies, only IgG antibody, both IgM and IgG, and IgM antibody alone, respectively. Several risk factors which were significantly related to T. gondii seropositivity in the univariate analysis at P < 0.05 included female gender (OR = 3.222, P < 0.001), age more than 40 years (P = 0.026), and sausage/hot dog consumption (OR = 4.472, P < 0.001).
Conclusions: The results of this study can be a warning for blood transfusion organizations to pay special attention to toxoplasmosis among blood donors and also design screening programs for prevention of transfusion–transmitted toxoplasmosis.