@article{fdi:010088011,
  title = {{R}etrospective study of toxoplasmosis prevalence in pregnant women in {B}enin and its relation with malaria},
  author = {{D}ambrun, {M}. and {D}echavanne, {C}{\'e}lia and {G}uigue, {N}. and {B}riand, {V}al{\'e}rie and {C}andau, {T}. and {F}ievet, {N}adine and {L}ohezic, {M}. and {M}anoharan, {S}. and {S}are, {N}. and {V}iwami, {F}. and {S}imon, {F}. and {H}ouz{\'e}, {S}. and {M}igot {N}abias, {F}lorence},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{B}ackground:{G}lobally distributed with variable prevalence depending on geography, toxoplasmosis is a zoonosis caused by an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite, {T}oxoplasma gondii. {T}his disease is usually benign but poses a risk for immunocompromised people and for newborns of mothers with a primary infection during pregnancy because of the risk of congenital toxoplasmosis ({CT}). {CT} can cause severe damage to fetuses-newborns. {T}o our knowledge, no study has been conducted in sub-{S}aharan {A}frica on toxoplasmosis seroprevalence, seroconversion and {CT} in a large longitudinal cohort and furthermore, no observation has been made of potential relationships with malaria.{M}ethods:{W}e performed a retrospective toxoplasmosis serological study using available samples from a large cohort of 1,037 pregnant women who were enrolled in a malaria follow-up during the 2008-2010 period in a rural area in {B}enin. {W}e also used some existing data to investigate potential relationships between the maternal toxoplasmosis serological status and recorded malaria infections.{R}esults:{T}oxoplasmosis seroprevalence, seroconversion and {CT} rates were 52.6%, 3.4% and 0.2%, respectively, reflecting the population situation of toxoplasmosis, without targeted medical intervention. {T}he education level influences the toxoplasmosis serological status of women, with women with little or no formal education have greater immunity than others. {S}urprisingly, toxoplasmosis seropositive pregnant women tended to present lower malaria infection during pregnancy (number) or at delivery (presence) and to have lower {I}g{G} levels to {P}lasmodium falciparum {A}pical {M}embrane {A}ntigen 1, compared to toxoplasmosis seronegative women.{C}onclusions:{T}he high toxoplasmosis seroprevalence indicates that prevention against this parasite remains important to deploy and must be accessible and understandable to and for all individuals (educated and non-educated). {A} potential protective role against malaria conferred by a preexisting toxoplasmosis infection needs to be explored more precisely to examine the environmental, parasitic and/or immune aspects.},
  keywords = {{BENIN} ; {COTONOU}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}lo{S} {O}ne},
  volume = {17},
  numero = {1},
  pages = {e0262018 [20 ]},
  ISSN = {1932-6203},
  year = {2022},
  DOI = {10.1371/journal.pone.0262018},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010088011},
}