Toxoplasma gondii infection and liver disease: a case-control study in a Northern Mexican population

Seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies and IgG titers did not differ significantly in patients (10/75; 13.3%) and controls (16/150; 10.7%). Two (2.7%) patients and 5 (3.3%) controls had anti-Toxoplasma IgM antibodies (P = 0.57). Seropositivity to Toxoplasma did not show any association with the diagnosis of liver disease. In contrast, seropositivity to Toxoplasma in patients was associated with consumption of venison and quail meat. Toxoplasma seropositivity was more frequent in patients with reflex impairment (27.8%) than in patients without this impairment (8.8%) (P = 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that Toxoplasma seropositivity in patients was associated with consumption of sheep meat (OR = 8.69; 95% CI: 1.02-73.71; P = 0.04) and rabbit meat (OR = 4.61; 95% CI: 1.06-19.98; P = 0.04).Seropositivity to Toxoplasma was comparable among liver disease patients and controls. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to elucidate the association of Toxoplasma with liver disease. Consumption of venison, and rabbit, sheep, and quail meats may warrant further investigation.Human infection with the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii occurs worldwide [1,2]. Major routes of T. gondii infections include ingesting food or water that is contaminated with oocysts shed by cats or by eating undercooked or raw meat containing tissue cysts [2-4]. The clinical spectrum of T. gondii infection varies from an asymptomatic state to severe illness. The parasite can affect the host's lymph nodes, eyes, central nervous system, liver, and heart [3,5,6]. In liver, the parasite has been associated with a number of pathological changes including hepatomegaly, granuloma, hepatitis, and necrosis [7-14]. In addition, an epidemiological study has reported an association of T. gondii infection with liver cirrhosis [15]. However, epidemiological studies on the association of infection with T. gondii and liver disease are scarce, and have not been performed in Mexico. Therefor