Sero Burden of Toxoplasma Gondii and Associated Risk Factors among HIV/AIDS Patients in Armed Forces Referral and Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Moh, Fewzia (2016) Sero Burden of Toxoplasma Gondii and Associated Risk Factors among HIV/AIDS Patients in Armed Forces Referral and Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Masters thesis, Addis Ababa University.

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Abstract

Background: Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease, worldwide distribution caused by an obligate intracellular coccidian parasite, known as Toxoplasma gondii. T. gondii can lead to serious diseases in immuno compromised patients such as HIV/AIDS patients. In most cases, central nervous system involvement can lead to encephalitis, which is one of the most important reasons of death among patients with HIV due to reactivation of tissue cysts that remained latent after the primary infection. Objective: This study was conducted to assess the Sero burden of Toxoplasma gondii infection and to identify associated risk factors among HIV/AIDS patients in Armed Forces Referral & Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Armed Forces Referral & Teaching Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from March toMay2016. The sampling method was based on convenience sampling. After getting an informed consent, pretested questionnaire were used to gather socio demographic information and data on factors predisposing to T. gondii infection. Serum samples from each volunteering patients were screened for the presence of anti- T.gondii IgG & IgM antibodies by using ELISA test kit (CTKBIOTECH, USA). Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 15.0.The chi-square test was used to determine the association between variables. P values were determined and taken as a level of significance when it was found less than 0.05. Results: The study recruited a total of 174 HIV/AIDS patients, 99 (56.9%) were males and 75 (43.1%) were females. The study also included age strata ranging from 18 to 68years. Most of the sampled subjects were found in the age group of 31 to 40 years. About 154 (88.5%) were seropositive for anti-T. gondii IgG antibody and 3 (1.7%) were seropositivity for anti- T. gondii IgM antibodies. None was positive for IgM antibody alone. Of all the variables included in the study, only presence of cat depicted association with sero-burden of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibody (p=0.038). Conclusion: This study revealed high sero burden of chronic toxoplasmosis in HIV/AIDS patients. HIV/ AIDS patients having domestic cat at their home were at higher risk of T. gondii infection. It would be important to increase public awareness about different routes of transmission of T. gondii. Besides, routine screening for Toxoplasma should be undertaken for all HIV-infected patients to minimize complication related to reactivation.

Item Type: Thesis (Masters)
Subjects: Q Science > QR Microbiology
R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions: Africana
Depositing User: Vincent Mpoza
Date Deposited: 19 Nov 2018 12:45
Last Modified: 19 Nov 2018 12:45
URI: http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/7330

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