Seroepidemiology and risk factors of toxoplasmosis among children age ranged from 1 to 14 years referred to medical diagnostic laboratories in Southeast Iran

Background: Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common protozoan diseases in both developing and developed countries. Human infection occurred by incidental ingestion of oocyst-contaminated food, water, soil or tissue of raw meat. Studies of infection in Iranian children are infrequent. In this study, we investigated seroprevalence, and risk factors of toxoplasmosis among children under 15 years old in Sistan and Baluchistan province, Southeastern Iran. Materials and methods: 869 sera samples were investigated for the detection of Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies by ELISA. Moreover, the participant's data were collected to study their association with infection. Data analysis for this study was performed using the SPSS software version 20. Results: T. gondii IgG antibodies were detected in 16.2% (141/869) of children in this study. Regarding the sociodemographic variables, age, male gender, contact with animal pets and white blood cells (WBC) count were significantly associated with toxoplasmosis (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Our study showed relatively high seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among children in Sistan and Baluchistan province. Our data considered a vital tool for healthcare authorities. Further investigations are needed in different part of Iran especially among high-risk groups of toxoplasmosis.