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

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.