Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in diabetic patients in Makkah AL Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia.

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic and zoonotic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii. The disease has worldwide distribution and all people maybe under the risk of getting infected by the parasite. The overall aim of this research was to detect the prevalence rate of antiToxoplasma gondii IgM and IgG among diabetic patients in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Blood samples were collected from diabetic patients. Toxo IgM and IgG combo rapid test cassette were used to screen the samples, and the results were confirmed by using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) to detect anti-IgM and anti- IgG antibodies on the plasma of 90 diabetic patients who attended the mobile clinic or AL Noor hospital in Makkah area. The subject was asked to complete a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire data and serological results were analyzed by using SPSS 20. Chi-square was used to compare different variables. Out of 90 samples, 39 (43.3%) were positive to anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG wherein 33 (36.6%) of them were male and 6 (6.7%) were female. The age ranged between 13-85 years with the mean of 49.9 years. The study found that there were statistical differences between the age groups with higher prevalence in the 50-65 years age group. Detection of IgM against T. gondii gave negative results. The results of the study indicate that latent T. gondii in diabetic patient are relatively high especially among the 50-65 age group. There were significant associated between direct contact with a cat and infection by T. gondii (p<0.05).