Authors

Discussion

Serological analysis of Toxoplasma gondii infections among migrant workers in Malaysia was conducted among low skilled and semi-skilled workers of five working sectors in Peninsular Malaysia namely; manufacturing, service, agriculture and plantation, construction and domestic work on voluntary basis. A total of 485 migrant workers (Indonesia (n=247, 50.9%), Nepal (n=99, 20.4%), Bangladesh (n=72, 14.8%), India (n=52, 10.7%), Myanmar (n=14, 2.9%) and Vietnam (n=1, 0.2%)) consented to participate in this study. Overall seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among 485 migrant workers was 57.5% (n= 279;) with 53.0% (n= 257) being seropositive for anti-Toxoplasma IgG, 0.8% (n= 4; seropositive for anti-Toxoplasma IgM and 3.7% (n= 18) seropositive with both IgG and IgM antibodies. Eighteen samples positive for both IgG and IgM antibodies were also tested for IgG avidity test and  results showed > 40% (high avidity), suggesting past infection. Four factors  were significantly associated with T. gondii infections namely; working sector , country of origin, number of working years in Malaysia and education level.