Toxoplasma gondii and Tuberculosis Co-infection among Tuberculosis patients at the Bamenda Regional Hospital, North West Region, Cameroon

Aim: To determine the prevalence of toxoplasmosis and tuberculosis co-infection among (TB) patients.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study was employed to gather data on 147 sputum positive TB patients.

Place and Duration of Study: Bamenda Regional Hospital (BRH), Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory and Treatment Centre from October 2015 to April, 2016.

Method: An epidemiological questionnaire was applied to gather data on positive-sputum pulmonary TB patients of both sexes on whom some risk factors for Toxoplasma were explored, followed by blood sampling. T. gondii IgM and IgG antibodies were researched in sera samples using indirect ELISA.

Results: T. gondii antibodies prevalence amongst the TB population was 83% (122/147, 95% CI 112-130). 85.25% of the Toxoplasma infection in the study population were recent infections with T.gondii parasite while up to 53.28% of patients were reactivating, no significant difference in prevalence between HIV negative or HIV positive TB patients was established.

Conclusion: The high seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among TB subjects attending treatment at the Bamenda Regional Hospital is suggestive of co-infection. Toxoplasmosis and tuberculosis co-infection are opportunistic infections for HIV/AIDS, and life threatening to TB patients and could be the reason for unexplained deaths among these patients on treatment.