Prevalência de portadores de IgM antitoxoplasma gondii em doentes de sida no Hospital de dia do HCM

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a highly disseminated zoonosis, with variable prevalence rates in different parts of the world. Its etiological agent is a protozoan, Toxoplasma gondü, which very often infects the human population in a chronic, asymptomatic form. However, in some situations it can be severe, such as in immunocompromised patients, especially AIDS patients, constituting the main cause of toxoplasmic encephalitis. The present study was carried out between November 2003 and January 2004, involving patients with HIV/AIDS, of both sexes, aged between 19 and 66 years old who were receiving treatment at the Hospital de Dia do HCM, with the aim of determining the seroprevalence of acute infections caused by T gondi, through the investigation of class M immunoglobulins (IgM). The qualitative Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method, commercial kit “Toxoplasma gondii IgM p-capture ELISA” (T0XM-016) from IBL Immuno-Biologícal Laboratories® (Hamburg, Germany), was applied to 120 patients to determine whether anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgM were positive. The prevalence of IgM carriers observed was 6 (5%). Of these patients, 3 (2.5%) were in the second clinical stage, 3 (2.5%) in the third stage and none in the fourth stage. Acute Toxoplasmosis, evidenced by the presence of IgM in the studied patients, reveals the importance of the investigation of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in AIDS patients due to the high risk of developing cerebral toxoplasmosis during the course of the disease. The creation of conditions for the diagnosis of this parasitosis in Mozambique and the inclusion of all HIV-positive individuals in the anti-Toxoplasma gondii chemoprophylactic treatment constituted the main recommendations in this work