8
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Toxoplasmosis and knowledge: what do the Italian women know about?

      research-article

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide zoonotic infectious disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii. This infection is estimated to affect about a third of the world's population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of Italian women about toxoplasmosis and its forms of transmission, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and prevention through two different modalities (e-research and traditional research). In a cross-sectional study, 808 Italian women were interviewed, using a self-administered questionnaire, through two different modalities: an e-research or web survey and a traditional paper research and 84% reported to have heard about toxoplasmosis, but from most of the sample, it resulted that the knowledge of the protozoan disease was superficial and incomplete.

          The assessment of the dimensionality related to the toxoplasmosis knowledge's instrument showed that the scale is composed by two stable and reliable factors which explain 58.6% of the variance: (a) the basic knowledge ( α = 0.83), which explains the 45.2% of the variance and (b) the specialist knowledge ( α = 0.71), which explains the 13.4% of the variance. The variance and the multiple linear regression data analysis showed significant predictors of correct basic knowledge of toxoplasmosis: the highest age, the highest degree of study, to have previously contracted illness or to know someone who had contracted it, to be working or to be housewives. In conclusion, this study showed limited awareness of toxoplasmosis and suggested the implementation of effective education and learning programs. The results also showed that online data collection, in academic research, might be a valid alternative to more traditional (paper-and-pencil) surveys.

          Related collections

          Most cited references74

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Toxoplasmosis snapshots: global status of Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence and implications for pregnancy and congenital toxoplasmosis.

          Toxoplasma gondii's importance for humans refers mainly to primary infection during pregnancy, resulting in abortion/stillbirth or congenital toxoplasmosis. The authors sought to evaluate the current global status of T. gondii seroprevalence and its correlations with risk factors, environmental and socioeconomic parameters. Literature published during the last decade on toxoplasmosis seroprevalence, in women who were pregnant or of childbearing age, was retrieved. A total of 99 studies were eligible; a further 36 studies offered seroprevalence data from regions/countries for which no data on pregnancy/childbearing age were available. Foci of high prevalence exist in Latin America, parts of Eastern/Central Europe, the Middle East, parts of south-east Asia and Africa. Regional seroprevalence variations relate to individual subpopulations' religious and socioeconomic practices. A trend towards lower seroprevalence is observed in many European countries and the United States of America (USA). There is no obvious climate-related gradient, excluding North and Latin America. Immigration has affected local prevalence in certain countries. We further sought to recognise specific risk factors related to seropositivity; however, such risk factors are not reported systematically. Population awareness may affect recognition of said risks. Global toxoplasmosis seroprevalence is continuingly evolving, subject to regional socioeconomic parameters and population habits. Awareness of these seroprevalence trends, particularly in the case of women of childbearing age, may allow proper public health policies to be enforced, targeting in particular seronegative women of childbearing age in high seroprevalence areas.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            The socioeconomic burden of parasitic zoonoses: global trends.

            Diseases resulting from zoonotic transmission of parasites are common. Humans become infected through food, water, soil and close contact with animals. Most parasitic zoonoses are neglected diseases despite causing a considerable global burden of ill health in humans and having a substantial financial burden on livestock industries. This review aims to bring together the current data available on global burden estimates of parasitic zoonoses and indicate any changes in the trends of these diseases. There is a clear need of such information as interventions to control zoonoses are often in their animal hosts. The costs of such interventions together with animal health issues will drive the cost effectiveness of intervention strategies. What is apparent is that collectively, parasitic zoonoses probably have a similar human disease burden to any one of the big three human infectious diseases: malaria, tuberculosis or HIV in addition to animal health burden. Although the global burden for most parasitic zoonoses is not yet known, the major contributors to the global burden of parasitic zoonoses are toxoplasmosis, food borne trematode infections, cysticercosis, echinococcosis, leishmaniosis and zoonotic schistosomosis. In addition, diarrhoea resulting from zoonotic protozoa may have a significant impact. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: found
              Is Open Access

              The global burden of congenital toxoplasmosis: a systematic review

              OBJECTIVE: To estimate the global burden of congenital toxoplasmosis (CT), which results from infection of pregnant women with Toxoplasma gondii. METHODS: The authors systematically searched 9 major databases for published and unpublished sources and established direct contact with the authors of source materials. Searches were country-specific. To be included, studies had to report on the incidence of CT, on positivity to Toxoplasma-specific IgM in infants and pregnant women (including seroconversion results) or on positivity to Toxoplasma-specific IgG in the general population. Various modelling techniques were used, depending on the country-specific data available, to estimate the CT incidence and burden in each country. These data were then synthesized into an estimate of the global incidence of CT and of the global burden of CT in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). FINDINGS: The global annual incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis was estimated to be 190 100 cases (95% credible interval, CI: 179 300-206 300). This was equivalent to a burden of 1.20 million DALYs (95% CI: 0.76-1.90). High burdens were seen in South America and in some Middle Eastern and low-income countries. CONCLUSION: Congenital toxoplasmosis poses a substantial burden of poor health globally. Toxoplasmosis should be included in future updates of the global burden of disease and the corresponding data should be used to support public health interventions to reduce disease burden.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Epidemiol Infect
                Epidemiol Infect
                HYG
                Epidemiology and Infection
                Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, UK )
                0950-2688
                1469-4409
                2020
                07 October 2020
                : 148
                : e256
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work , Rome, Italy
                [2 ]Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome , Rome, Italy
                Author notes
                Author for correspondence: Agnese Martini, E-mail: a.martini@ 123456inail.it
                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4008-6729
                Article
                S0950268820002393
                10.1017/S0950268820002393
                7689595
                33023706
                51e12e89-a9f0-4f15-9ff3-fe1bc62cde28
                © The Author(s) 2020

                This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 08 July 2020
                : 21 September 2020
                : 25 September 2020
                Page count
                Tables: 5, References: 76, Pages: 11
                Categories
                Original Paper

                Public health
                e-research,knowledge,protozoan disease,toxoplasma gondii,toxoplasmosis,women
                Public health
                e-research, knowledge, protozoan disease, toxoplasma gondii, toxoplasmosis, women

                Comments

                Comment on this article