Pregnant women in Kumasi who come into contact with cats are nearly twice as likely to contract toxoplasmosis-a potentially dangerous infection that poses serious risks to unborn babies-according to a new study conducted at a district-level hospital.
The research, led by Dr.
Bhavana Singh from the Department of Clinical Microbiology at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), found that both exposure to cats and lower levels of education were significant risk factors for infection with Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite responsible for the disease.
Involving 400 women in their first trimester, the study revealed that more than half tested positive for toxoplasmosis using the highly sensitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method.
