Jati, Aisha Khodijah Kholib
(2020)
Serologic and molecular detection of toxoplasmosis among blood donors and haemato-oncology patients in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Masters thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Abstract
Toxoplasmosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii and it has been highlighted as a
public health concern, as one-third of the world population has been infected. Its
transmission from blood donors to receiving immunocompromised patients has
become a concern. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the prevalence of
toxoplasmosis among blood donors and haemato-oncology patients in Hospital
Universiti Sains Malaysia. A total of 56 blood donors and 56 haemato-oncology
patients were screened by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for anti-
T. gondii immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies. Samples
that were positive for T. gondii IgG and IgM were further tested for IgG avidity using
ELISA. All extracted deoxyribonucleic acids (DNAs) from whole blood samples were
analyzed for the presence of the Toxoplasma B1 gene and the ITS-1 region by PCR.
The socio-demographic data and behavioral characteristics of donors and patients were
analyzed using statistical analysis. Out of 56 blood donors, 23 (41.07%) donors were
IgG+/IgM-, and 2 (3.57%) donors were IgG+/IgM+ with one of the donors having a
high avidity index indicating as past infection for more than 20 weeks and the other
with a low avidity index indicating as recent infection within 20 weeks. Meanwhile,
28 (50%) of hemato-oncology patients were seropositive for T. gondii antibodies,
where 27 (48.21%) patients were IgG+/IgM- and one patient (1.79%) was IgG+/IgM+
with high avidity index. None of the samples (donors and patients) tested positive for
the presence of the Toxoplasma B1 gene and ITS-1 region. Pearson Chi Square
analysis and Fisher Exact Test showed that only employment status was significantly
associated with Toxoplasma seropositivity rate for blood donors’ population.
However, for haemato-oncology patients none of sociodemographic factors and
behavioral characteristics showed a significant association with Toxoplasma
seropositivity rate. As for the conclusion, blood donors have been exposed to T. gondii
infection, but currently, the parasites have been destroyed by the immune system or
could reside in other tissues. Thus, blood is considered safe for transfusion.
Meanwhile, hemato-oncology patients might have been exposed to T. gondii infection,
and the parasites may reside in other tissues if patients' immune systems did not destroy
it. Therefore, they have a higher risk of reactivation of infection.
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