Calero-Bernal R, Gennari SM, Cano S, Salas-Fajardo MY, Ríos A, Álvarez-García G, Ortega-Mora LM. Anti-
Toxoplasma gondii Antibodies in European Residents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Studies Published between 2000 and 2020.
Pathogens 2023;
12:1430. [PMID:
38133313 PMCID:
PMC10745778 DOI:
10.3390/pathogens12121430]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Toxoplasmosis has a major impact on animal and public health. Information regarding the seroprevalence of human Toxoplasma gondii infections from a European perspective has not yet been compiled to date. Thus, the present review summarized available resident data from the period 2000-2020. The overall seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG was 32.1%, with great variability between countries (n = 30). The subgroup analysis identified different pooled prevalence data depending on the geographic area (p < 0.0001), target population (p = 0.0147), and serological diagnosis assays used (p = 0.0059). A high heterogeneity (I2 = 100%, p < 0.001; Q = 3.5e+05, d.f. = 135, p < 0.001) and degree of publication bias (Egger's test = 6.14, p < 0.001) were observed among the 134 studies considered. The occurrence of anti-T. gondii IgM, which was reported in 64.7% of studies, reached a pooled seroprevalence of 0.6%. In addition, among the eight main risk factors identified, "contact with soil", "consumption of undercooked beef", and "intake of unwashed vegetables" were the most significantly associated with infections. The fact that one-third of the European population has been exposed to T. gondii justifies extra efforts to harmonize surveillance systems and develop additional risk-factor analyses based on detailed source attribution assessment.
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