Exposure to Toxoplasma gondii in the Roma and Non-Roma Inhabitants of Slovakia: A Cross-Sectional Seroprevalence Study

Daniela Antolová, Martin Janičko, Monika Halánová, Peter Jarčuška, Andrea Madarasová Gecková, Ingrid Babinská, Zuzana Kalinová, Daniel Pella, Mária Mareková, Eduard Veseliny and HepaMeta Team
Additional contact information
Daniela Antolová: Department of Parasitic Diseases, Institute of Parasitology SAS, Hlinkova 3, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia
Martin Janičko: Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Trieda SNP 1, 040 11 Košice, Slovakia
Monika Halánová: Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Trieda SNP 1, 040 11 Košice, Slovakia
Peter Jarčuška: Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Trieda SNP 1, 040 11 Košice, Slovakia
Andrea Madarasová Gecková: Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Trieda SNP 1, 040 11 Košice, Slovakia
Ingrid Babinská: Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Trieda SNP 1, 040 11 Košice, Slovakia
Zuzana Kalinová: Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Trieda SNP 1, 040 11 Košice, Slovakia
Daniel Pella: Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Trieda SNP 1, 040 11 Košice, Slovakia
Mária Mareková: Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Trieda SNP 1, 040 11 Košice, Slovakia
Eduard Veseliny: Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice, Trieda SNP 1, 040 11 Košice, Slovakia
HepaMeta Team: HepaMeta Team members are listed in Appendix A

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-9

Abstract: The lifestyle, health and social status of the Roma are generally below the standards characteristic for the non-Roma population. This study aimed to find out the seropositivity to Toxoplasma gondii ( T. gondii ) in the population of Roma living in segregated settlements and to compare it with the prevalence of antibodies in the non-Roma population from the catchment area of eastern Slovakia. The seroprevalence of antibodies to T. gondii was significantly higher in the Roma group (45.0%) than in non-Roma inhabitants (24.1%). A statistically significant difference was also recorded between the two non-Roma groups in the study, 30.4% of those from the catchment area and 19.7% from the non-catchment area were seropositive. Univariate logistic regression confirmed poverty and higher age to be significant risk factors influencing the seropositivity to T. gondii . Of the clinical symptoms analyzed in the study, only muscle and back pain were associated with seropositivity to T. gondii . The close contact of Roma with an environment contaminated by different infectious agents and the insufficient hygiene, lower level of education, poverty, lack of water and household equipment and high number of domestic animals increase the risk of infectious diseases in the Roma settlements and subsequently the spread of communicable diseases at the national or even international level.

Keywords: Toxoplasma gondii; Toxoplasmosis; seroprevalence; Roma people; Slovakia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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