Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma Antibody and Clinical Features of Toxoplasmosis in Posterior Uveitis in South-West Nigeria

Background: Toxoplasmosis is the presumed cause of posterior uveitis in South West Nigeria, and patients are mostly treated empirically on the basis of clinical findings.

Aim: To determine the level of IgG and IgM toxoplasma antibodies consistent with diagnosis of toxoplasma associated posterior uveitis in immune-competent subjects and compare with normal controls.

Design: A cross-section analytic study.

Place and Duration: Department of Ophthalmology, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital Sagamu Ogun State from July 2016-March 2017

Methodology: Consecutive patients with clinical signs of posterior uveitis were recruited and had questionnaires administered to obtain socio-demographic data and risks of toxoplasma infection. Venous blood was collected for hemoglobin concentration, white blood cell count differentials, HIV seropositivity, and for ELISA immunoglobulin assay for Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies.

Results: Thirty-four consecutive cases with a clinical diagnosis of posterior uveitis and nineteen age sex-matched healthy controls were recruited for the study. Twenty-five (73.53%) cases had significantly elevated levels of Toxoplasma IgG and 3 for IgM (8.82%); while amongst the controls, 31.6% had significantly raised IgG while 15.8% had for IgM. The difference between cases and controls for elevated serum levels of Toxoplasma antibodies was statistically significant (p=.003).

Conclusion: Elevated serum IgG toxoplasma antibodies are useful in the diagnosis of posterior uveitis caused by Toxoplasma gondii and fairly corresponded to the clinical fundus finding.