Toxoplasma gondii Infection and ABO Blood Group Association Among Pregnant Sudanese Women: A Case Study

PURPOSE: ABO blood group glycol-conjugate expression may influence human susceptibility to infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii. This study aimed to assess the relationship between blood group phenotypes as risk factors for toxoplasmosis and to correlate the prevalence of the disease with other risk factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of two-hundred serum samples were collected from pregnant women referred for routine rotary examination in Rabak Teaching Hospital, White Nile State, Sudan, and examined for the parasite Toxoplasma gondii using the latex agglutination test. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women (IgG positivity for T. gondii in the absence of IgM) was 41% (82/200). A higher prevalence of the infection was detected in women with blood group type AB 5 (55.6%) among the females in the AB blood group and the lowest in those with blood group type B 11 (35.5%). Those with a history of direct contact with cats reported the possibility of eating undercooked meat and soil-related potential risk factors (working in a garden with bare hands, eating unwashed vegetables and fresh fruits, poor handling of food) recorded 70 (82.4%), 59 (65.6%), 58 (77.3%), 73 (55.7%) and 70 (73.7%) of positive cases, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference between Toxoplasma gondii infection and these risk factors. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that the ABO blood group system was not related to the absence or presence of anti-T. gondii antibodies in pregnant women in the study area. Contact with cat feces, raw meat consumption, and farming were identified as possible important risk factors for T. gondii infection within the study area.