Dear editor: Toxoplasmosis is caused by intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). T. gondii infection in pregnancy can result in serious consequences for the developing fetus or newborn, including spontaneous abortion, hydrocephalus, and even death.1 The infection could be acquired by ingestion of food (raw or uncooked meat from infected animals), direct contact with cat feces or soil contaminated with oocysts. In 2012, Caballero-Ortega and colleagues2 found an increase in the toxoplasmosis distribution in the north region (35%), finding the highest prevalence in coastal regions (67.5%) of Mexico. There is no historical data available about this seroprevalence, specifically of the Comarca Lagunera of Durango state. Moreover, previous study of T. gondii seroprevalence in Durango city showed that 6.1% of pregnant woman of urban areas and 8.2% of rural areas were found positives.3 In 2018, 434 pregnant women who used the Health Services of Durango state in the Comarca Lagunera region were studied with an average age of 22.2 years (± 5.95); we found four (0.92%) IgG and none (0.0%) IgM antibodies anti-T. gondii (table I). Consumption of dried meat (OR=16.5; 95%CI 1.7-161.48; p=0.01) and sheep and goat meat (OR=15.61; 95%CI 1.1-224.05; p=0.043) was associated factor to the infection. Number and different types of pets and cats was not associated with anti-T. gondii antibodies. The Comarca Lagunera of Durango being a cattle zone, frequently local meat is consumed in general, representing a possible risk factor. It is particularly interesting since this study’s seroprevalence was 0.91% in a small area of Durango state, differing from the global prevalence in the State. Probably, this results could be due to Durango state having a geographical diversity, Durango capital is located in a valley, unlike the Comarca Lagunera region, which is a semi-desert zone with high environmental temperature (up to 45 °C), that could explain the reduced survival of oocysts, which implies a subsequent investigation to this work.
Table I: Seroprevalence of IgG and IgM antibodies against T. gondii in patients users of the Health Services in the Sanitary Jurisdiction n° 2. Comarca Lagunera, Durango, Mexico, 2018
Pregnant women n=434 | Primiparous n=285 | Multiparous n=149 | |
IgG anti T. gondii | |||
Positive n (%) |
4 (0.91) |
1 (0.23) |
3 (0.69) |
Negative n (%) |
430 (99.09) |
284 (65.43) |
146 (33.64) |
IgM anti T. gondii | |||
Positive n (%) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
Negative n (%) |
434 (100) |
285 (65.67) |
149 (34.33) |