Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May 24:151:e95.
doi: 10.1017/S0950268823000808.

Risk factors for acute toxoplasmosis in the Netherlands

Ingrid H M Friesema  1 , Agnetha Hofhuis  1 , Denise Hoek-van Deursen  1 , Arjan R Jansz  2 , Alewijn Ott  3 , Jaap J van Hellemond  4 , Joke van der Giessen  1 , Laetitia M Kortbeek  1 , Marieke Opsteegh  1
Affiliations

Risk factors for acute toxoplasmosis in the Netherlands

Ingrid H M Friesema et al. Epidemiol Infect. .

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii occurs worldwide. Infections range from asymptomatic to life-threatening. T. gondii infection is acquired either via bradyzoites in meat or via oocysts in the environment, but the relative importance of these path ways and the different sources remains unclear. In this study, possible risk factors for toxoplasmosis in the Netherlands were investigated. A case-control study was conducted including persons with recent infection and individuals with a negative test result for IgM and IgG for T. gondii between July 2016 and April 2021. A total of 48 cases and 50 controls completed the questionnaire. Food history and environmental exposure were compared using logistic regression. Consumption of different meats was found to be associated with recent infection. In the multivariable model, adjusted for age, gender, and pregnancy, consumption of large game meat (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 8.2, 95% confidence interval 1.6-41.9) and sometimes (aOR 4.1, 1.1-15.3) or never (aOR 15.9, 2.2-115.5) washing hands before food preparation remained. These results emphasize the value of the advice to be careful with the consumption of raw and undercooked meat. Good hand hygiene could also be promoted in the prevention of T. gondii infection.

Keywords: Case-control study; Toxoplasma gondii; risk factors; toxoplasmosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare none.

References

    1. Flegr J, Prandota J and Sovičková M, Israili Z.H. (2014) Toxoplasmosis–A global threat. Correlation of latent toxoplasmosis with specific disease burden in a set of 88 countries. PLoS One 9, e90203. - PMC - PubMed
    1. McAuley JB (2014) Congenital Toxoplasmosis. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society 3(Suppl 1), S30–S35. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Petersen E, Meroni V, Vasconcelos-Santos DV, Mandelbrot L and Peyron F (2022) Congenital toxoplasmosis: Should we still care about screening? Food and Waterborne Parasitology 27, e00162. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Montoya JG and Liesenfeld O (2004) Toxoplasmosis. Lancet 363, 1965–1976. - PubMed
    1. Hill D and Dubey JP. (2002) Toxoplasma gondii: Transmission, diagnosis and prevention. Clinical Microbiology and Infection 8, 634–640. - PubMed

Publication types