SEROPREVALENCE OF TOXOPLASMA GONDII IN PATIENTS OF PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS

Abstract

This study was conducted in the Chest and Respiratory Hospital in Najaf Governorate during 
the period from November 2022 to October 2023. 70 sputum samples from both sexes and different 
ages were examined to detect tuberculosis bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis by using the 
traditional method (examination of sputum samples) and a Ziehl-Neelsen dye, as well as 
investigating their infection with the Toxoplasma gondii parasite using the ELISA method and the 
extent of the effect of this parasite and other factors on Tuberculosis.
The results showed that the traditional examination of the sputum samples taken was 
consistent with the clinical diagnosis made by a specialist physician at a rate of 100% of the total 
samples studied.
The results showed differences in the rates of males and females infected with tuberculosis. 
The number of males infected with tuberculosis was 40, or 57%, while the number of infected 
females was 30, or 43%, and it had a moral significance (P < 0.05).
Tuberculosis infection rates also varied according to age, and the middle age group (38-57) 
years was the most susceptible to infection, reaching 40%, followed by the younger age group (18-
37) years, reaching 33%, and finally the oldest age group (58-77). year, reaching 27%. It had a 
moral significance (P < 0.05).
Residents of cities were more susceptible to infection with pulmonary tuberculosis than 
residents of rural areas, as the number of infected people from the city was 46, at a rate of 66%, 
and from the countryside, 24, at a rate of 34%. The results of the statistical analysis showed that 
there were significant differences in the rates of infection with pulmonary tuberculosis between 
rural and city residents (P < 0.05).
The results of the study noted the difference in the sensitivity of tuberculosis patients in responding 
to treatment and the presence of resistance of pulmonary tuberculosis bacteria to the first-line 
antibiotics that are usually given to the patient as the first stage of tuberculosis treatment. The 
number of patients resistant to the drug was 33 patients, at a rate of 47%, and the number of patients 
responding to the drug was 37, at a rate of 53%. With a significant difference(P=0.025).
The results showed the seroprevalence of specific antibodies to the parasite Toxoplasma 
conidiaToxoplasma gondiiIn patients with pulmonary tuberculosisTB infected them at a rate of 
51%, which is a high rate compared to the control group, which was infected with a lower rate of 
25% of Toxoplasmosis.
The prevalence of infection was associated with the parasite Toxoplasma conidiaT. gondiiAnd 
pulmonary tuberculosis bacteriaM. tuberculosisIn females it is more than in males, 58% and 42%, 
respectively. Likewise, females are more infected than males, 15% and 10%, respectively, in the 
control group.