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Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies and associated risk factors in women of child-bearing age in Njinikom, NW Cameroon

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Research Notes, August 2016
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Title
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies and associated risk factors in women of child-bearing age in Njinikom, NW Cameroon
Published in
BMC Research Notes, August 2016
DOI 10.1186/s13104-016-2206-0
Pubmed ID
Authors

Elvis Chongsi Wam, Leonard Fonkeng Sama, Innocent Mbulli Ali, Walter Akoh Ebile, Lucy Agyingi Aghangu, Christopher Bonglavnyuy Tume

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a widely distributed zoonotic disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. T. Infections can result in stillbirths, abortions or congenital defects during pregnancy, as well as toxoplasmic encephalitis in HIV/AIDS patients. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors for T. gondii infection in women seeking antenatal and medical care in the locality of Njinikom, North West of Cameroon. We conducted a cross-sectional study from August to December 2014 consecutively enrolling 178 consenting women aged 15 to 49 years attending antenatal care or medical check-ups at the hospital. A questionnaire survey was administered to study participants and potential risk factors for Toxoplasma exposure sought. Venous blood was collected and serum from each participant analysed for T. gondii infection as evidenced by the presence of anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies detected using the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. The proportion of anti-T. gondii antibody positivity calculated as the percentage of antibody seropositivity to T. gondii antigens. Predictors of T. gondii infection were analysed by univariate and multivariate regression and association with T. gondii seropositivity assessed. Epi-Info 3.5.4 was used for statistical analyses. A p < 0.05 was considered significant for all analyses. The seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies (IgM or IgG) were 54.5 % (97/178). Among seropositive women, 88.7 % (86/97), 30.9 % (30/97), and 19.6 % (19/97) were respectively seropositive for IgG antibody, IgM antibody and both IgM and IgG antibodies. Among the risk factors evaluated, only the consumption of raw or undercooked meat (p = 0.02) was observed to be an independent risk factor of T. gondii infection. The consumption of unwashed vegetables and fruits was significant (p = 0.01) only with simple logistic regression analysis. Our findings suggest recent T. gondii exposure is high in our study population, and may constitute a significant risk factor for stillbirths, abortions or congenital defects during pregnancy in women attending antenatal care, or toxoplasmic encephalitis in those who are immunosuppressed such as in HIV/AIDS. Education and screening of HIV-positive individuals and pregnant women for T. gondii infection may be important primary prevention strategies in this population.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 99 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 99 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 12 12%
Student > Ph. D. Student 11 11%
Researcher 8 8%
Student > Doctoral Student 7 7%
Student > Bachelor 6 6%
Other 21 21%
Unknown 34 34%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 16 16%
Immunology and Microbiology 8 8%
Nursing and Health Professions 7 7%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 6 6%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 6 6%
Other 19 19%
Unknown 37 37%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 17 August 2016.
All research outputs
#20,337,210
of 22,882,389 outputs
Outputs from BMC Research Notes
#3,564
of 4,269 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#300,400
of 344,199 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Research Notes
#64
of 79 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,882,389 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 4,269 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.5. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 344,199 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 79 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.