evaluation of anti-toxoplasma gondii antibodies in hemodialysis patients with chronic kidney disease in sari, iran

Background: toxoplasma gondii has worldwide distribution and is one of the most prevalent infectious agents in humans. objectives: the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anti-toxoplasma gondii antibodies in hemodialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (ckd) in the hemodialysis unit of fatemeh zahra hospital at the mazandaran university of medical sciences in sari, iran. methods: seventy-three patients with ckd and 145 healthy volunteers were assessed for anti-toxoplasma gondii (igg, igm, and iga) antibodies using a conventional elisa technique. results: the anti-toxoplasma gondii igg antibody was detected in 80.8% of the cases in the patient group, while 31.5% of the cases in the ckd patient group and 31.8% in the control group were found to be positive for the anti-toxoplasma gondii iga antibody. all the patients in the ckd group were negative for the anti-toxoplasma gondii igm antibody, although 2.76% of the healthy volunteers were found to be positive. the present study suggests that there was no significant difference between the hemodialysis patient group and the healthy volunteers. conclusions: the epidemiological data collected in this study could serve as a reference for future studies and may be useful in developing preventive and educational strategies, and consequently reducing healthcare expenditure.