Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii Infection among HIVInfected Patients in Tokyo, Japan - Abstract
The seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii was assessed in 169 adult non-hemophiliac Japanese patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus. The seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was only 14.2%, which was similar to findings from the USA and lower than that reported for most other countries. The positive ratio of T. gondii IgG antibodies was significantly higher in patients aged ? 40 years (21.0% vs. 7.9%, p=0.01) with < 200 CD4+ cells /µL (20.5% vs. 9.4%, p=0.04). Group analysis showed that seropositivity did not differ according to sexuality. The ratios of positivity for hepatitis B surface antigen, hepatitis B surface antibody, hepatitis C antibody, serological findings for syphilis and the findings of the Treponema pallidum hemaggulation test were not associated the seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against T. gondii.
These results indicate that patients in Japan with lesions of the central nervous system and antibodies against T. gondii are highly likely to have toxoplasmosis.
Infection with T. gondii should be carefully assessed in elderly Japanese patients who are infected with human immunodeficiency virus.