A Seroepidemiologic Survey of Toxoplasmosis in Islamshahr District of Tehran, Iran

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in Islamshahr District of Tehran, Iran, in 1998. This descriptive study was carried out on 1552 blood samples randomly collected from individuals in different age groups who were admitted to 17 urban and rural health centers. For each individual a questionnaire was filled, then three finger prick samples were taken and serologically tested by indirect fluorescent antibody technique using 1:20, 1:100 and I:200 serum dilutions. Any positive serum in 1:20 dilution was rechecked for final titration. The serum dilution of 1:20 with a confidence level of95 percent was accepted as the index of the infection. A total of 606 persons (39%) were diagnosed positive (with titers of 1:20 or higher) and 54persons (3.5%) had a titer of 1:200 or higher. This study showed a statistically significant relationship between the toxoplasmosis seropositivity and sex, age, occupation, exposure to cats and abortion. The results indicated that there are some appropriate conditions for the transmission of the infection in the considered area.