Background: Toxoplasmosis is a globally found parasitic infection with public health importance. Acquisitions of the infection during pregnancy pose risk for congenital toxoplasmosis that could lead to poor pregnancy outcomes such as fetal losses and congenital abnormalities. There is paucity of sero-epidemiological data on Toxoplasma gondii infection in Northern Tanzania, which are critical in defining toxoplasmosis control and prevention strategies. In regards to this, the current study was designed aiming to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with T.gondii seropositivity among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Northern Tanzania.

Method: An institutional based survey was carried out from February to April 2017. Data regarding socio-economic characteristics, obstetric history, knowledge and practices toward toxoplasma infection were collected among 254 pregnant women attending antenatal care at KCMC by using pre tested questionnaire. Blood specimen of 4mls was collected from each participant and their corresponding serums were tested for T.gondii specific IgG and IgM by indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 20.

Results: Ninety percent of the pregnant women participated in this study had never heard about toxoplasmosis. The overall T.gondiisero-positivity was 45%. Out of 254 tested pregnant women serums, 103 (40.5%) and 23 (9.1%) were sero-positive for T.gondii specific IgG and IgM antibodies respectively. Ten serum samples (3.9%) tested positive for T.gondiispecific IgM and negative for IgG. The factors associated with T.gondii seropositivity were consumption of raw vegetables [AOR = 0. 344; 95% CI: 0.151 - 0.784; p = 0.011] and having regular soil contact [AOR = 0.482; 95% CI: 0.268 - 0.8681; p = 0.015].

Conclusion: The current study found about 40% of pregnant women who were attending antenatal care at KCMC were already infected with T.gondii and about 4% were likely having acute infections which underscore the importance of routinely screening for T.gondii during antenatal care. On other hand, habit of regular soil contact and consumption of raw vegetables were found to have protective role on the risk toward T.gondii infection. However, due to observed low awareness of this disease, highlight the importance of providing health information against T.gondii infection among pregnant women during antenatal care.