Abstract
Coinfection of tuberculosis (TB) and human parasitic infections is common in developing countries. There is little information about the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection among TB patients in Iran. In this case–control study, anti-toxoplasma antibodies were measured by ELISA method in 100 patients with active tuberculosis and 100 healthy individuals who were matched in terms of sex, age, and place of residence. Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were diagnosed in 62% of TB patients (95% CI 53–71%) and 70% of control subjects (95% CI 62–78%). Anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies were found in 1% of both TB patients and control group. The seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was not significantly different between TB patients and healthy individuals (P > 0.05). None of the assessed sociodemographic and behavioral factors was recognized as a risk factor for toxoplasmosis in TB infected patients. Moreover, the level of anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies concentration in TB patients was significantly higher than in control subjects and revealed skewness towards humoral immune response in TB patients. Coinfection of toxoplasmosis and tuberculosis was prevalent but T. gondii infection was independent of active TB in this co-endemic area.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during the current study are available under request to the corresponding author.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the staff of the infectious disease ward and TB laboratory center of Rasht Razi Hospital and all participants for their kind assistance during this study. We appreciate the Guilan University of Medical Sciences for the financial support (Grant No. 97052010).
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All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by AS, RJS, and BMS. The first draft of the manuscript was written by AS and RJS. ZAR analyzed the data. Funding acquisition was carried out by BMS. BMS and MS reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors participated in data interpretation, read the last version of the manuscript, and approved it.
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Jafari-Shakib, R., Sadeghi, A., Majidi-Shad, B. et al. Seroepidemiological study on coinfection of toxoplasmosis and active tuberculosis in Northern Iran: a case control study. J Parasit Dis (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-024-01657-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-024-01657-3