Seroepidemiology and Risk Factors of Toxoplasma gondii Infection among the Newly Enrolled Undergraduates and Postgraduate Students in China

Abstract

<i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> is an obligate intracellular zoonotic parasite, infecting warm-blood animals including humans. Previous serological surveys of <i>T. gondii</i> infection have focused on people of different occupations and special groups, such as slaughterhouse workers, AIDS patients and pregnant women. To investigate the potential impact of <i>T. gondii</i> infection on the health of young students, the prevalence of <i>T. gondii</i> infection and associated risk factors among the newly enrolled undergraduates and postgraduate students were investigated. A total of 3,569 newly enrolled students (age range: 15- to 37-years-old, median 26 years) from various regions of China were recruited in this study. The serum samples were tested for the presence of <i>T. gondii</i> specific IgG by the modified agglutination test (MAT). Questionnaires were used to collect information on risk factors for <i>T. gondii</i> infection. Sixty-five (1.82%) out of 3,569 participants were seropositive for IgG antibodies to <i>T. gondii</i> by MAT (titer≥1:20). Four variables were found to be positively associated with <i>T. gondii</i> infection, including primary geographical location, living in rural areas, gardening or agriculture, and drinking unboiled water by the univariate logistic regression, and only gardening or agriculture was the independent risk factor for <i>T. gondii</i> positivity by using multivariate logistic regression in this study, which may provide information to guide future research and control policies.