Introduction:

Toxoplasma gondii infection manifests differently in humans according to their immunity ranging from asymptomatic profiles to severe disease. There are multiple transmission mechanisms including blood transfusions, but little is known about the frequency of T. gondii infection in Colombia’s blood banks.

Objective:

To determine the prevalence of T. gondii infection in blood donors of a blood bank in the city of Cúcuta by serological and molecular diagnostic techniques.

Materials and methods:

We identified IgG and IgM antibodies against T. gondii by immunoassay in serum from 348 donors. The frequency of T. gondii DNA was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in whole blood from seropositive donors and relevant variables were analyzed based on the information obtained from surveys during blood donor selection.

Results:

Out of the 348 enrolled donors, 134 (38.5%) showed IgG antibodies against T. gondii; two of them (0.6%) had both IgG and IgM, and in two of them (1.5%), parasite DNA was detected in blood samples. A bivariate analysis indicated an association between seropositivity to T. gondii and being over 26 years of age (p=0.020).

Conclusions:

The prevalence of T. gondii infection found in the blood donors of this study suggests a significant exposure to the infectious agent that becomes relevant when parasitemia is detected.

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