Seroprevalence and Clinical Correlates of Toxoplasma Gondii Infection among Patients in Tertiary Care Hospital

Background Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common parasitic infections seen in humans. Approximately one third of the population is exposed to this parasite. Infection in immunocompetent adult human is usually asymptomatic, while it is dangerous for immunocompromised patients. Toxoplasmosis is a common opportunistic infection among immunocompromised patients. Disease in immunocompromised patients is usually due to reactivation of latent infection but can result from acute infection as well. Toxoplasmosis in these persons may lead to lethal meningoencephalitis, focal lesions of CNS and less commonly myocarditis and pneumonitis. Determination of IgM antibodies against Toxoplasma encourages rapid diagnosis and treatment. Material and methods A total of 90 Immunocompromised patients were included in the study. The group consist of Patients with HIV reactivity, tuberculosis and on those who were receiving cancer chemotherapy were considered and clinical conditions suggestive of Toxoplasmosis were included. Blood sample collected from all these patients and were screened by ELISA for IgM antibodies. Results Among immunocompromised patients, male were predominated with male to female ratio 2.911 was seen. Maximum cases were from the age group of 25-34 years. Ingestion of meat was most common risk factor. Fever, Headache, and fatigue were the most common clinical symptoms in immunocompromised and toxoplasma co-infected patients, Hypodensity was the common radiological feature. Conclusion The prevalence of toxoplasmosis in immunocompromised patients was 26 %. Hence, the high prevalence of co-infection definitely indicates that early diagnosis, high level of suspicion and effective and aggressive treatment of toxoplasmosis, strong commitment, a focused approach is the need so that toxoplasmosis can be diagnosed at an earliest stage.