Abstract

Objective: To detect Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 180 blood samples. In compliance with all ethical principles, 90 blood samples were taken from hemodialysis patients with ESRD and 90 samples from healthy volunteers. T. gondii screening was done using ELISA to search for immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies and by PCR for amplification of the T. gondii genome using specific primers. Results: The results were analyzed using SPSS software. Out of 90 patients on hemodialysis, 54 (60.0%) were positive for anti-toxoplasma IgG antibody, 3 (3.3%) for anti-toxoplasma IgM antibody and 5 patients (6%) were positive by PCR. From 90 healthy volunteers, 34 (37.8%) were positive for anti-toxoplasma IgG antibody. All the healthy volunteers were negative for anti-toxoplasma IgM antibody and in PCR. Compared with the gold standard method of ELISA, PCR had 100% sensitivity and 98.9% specificity in detection of T. gondii. Conclusions: PCR alongside serologic methods can be valuable for T. gondii screening. Given the high prevalence of T. gondii among hemodialysis patients with ESRD, T. gondii screening together with sanitary control of biological agents was recommended in dialysis units.

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