Sero-epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in young children in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The exposure of 127 pre-school and young schoolchildren to Toxoplasma gondii was investigated by a serological survey of its antibody by means of the passive haemagglutination technique. The significant rise of prevalence of the antibody from 35% in pre-school to 60% in the early school age group suggests that poor sanitary habits and conditions and water shortage in primary schools may cause parasitic infection through contact between children which has not been previously suspected but should be investigated. The strange difference of prevalence of the antibody in the two sexes in the pre-school age children cannot be explained by any social aspects of life. It is therefore suggested the initial exposure of the two sexes to the protozoan is the same but that it acts selectively as a killer disease in the pre-school males either as a primary infection or, more probably, secondary to other lethal paediatric killer diseases. Further studies of the latter aspects in the tropics are needed.