Gestational and Congenital Toxoplasmosis: Gaps in Healthcare Professionals' Knowledge at a Public Maternity Hospital in Central-West Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17696/2318-3691.31.01.2025.283Keywords:
Maternal and child health; Parasitology; Health Education; Toxoplasma, Foodborne Diseases.Abstract
Introduction: Congenital toxoplasmosis is transmitted from the mother to the fetus via the placenta, potentially leading to various adverse outcomes for the infant. Objective: To assess healthcare professionals' knowledge of gestational and congenital toxoplasmosis in the maternity ward of a public university hospital. Methods: This is a descriptive study, with a cross-sectional design and mixed approach, carried out between October 2023 and April 2024. A structured questionnaire was used to investigate aspects of gestational and congenital toxoplasmosis, covering topics such as diagnosis, transmission mechanisms, clinical manifestations, prophylaxis measures, and therapeutic options. Results: Fifty-one professionals between the ages of 36 and 50 responded to the questionnaire. All reported having heard of toxoplasmosis, and 43 (84.3%) correctly identified the etiologic agent. Regarding the frequency with which the health care team counsels patients; 37.2% (19/21) and 35.2% (15/51), respectively, stated that they rarely or never do so. The majority of respondents (82.3%) said that contact with cats was the mode of transmission, followed by eating raw meat (72.5%). Less than half of the respondents said that the disease could be transmitted by eating fresh vegetables, drinking unfiltered water and handling soil. In addition, less than half of the respondents correctly identified the possible manifestations of congenital toxoplasmosis. Regarding diagnosis; 94.1% identified serologic testing as the correct method. According to the treatment, the answers varied considerably. Conclusion: The results showed that health professionals who care for pregnant women lack accurate knowledge about the disease, reinforcing the need for this training.
References
1. Dubey JP. Advances in the life cycle of *Toxoplasma gondii*. Int J Parasitol. 1998;28(7):1019-24. doi:10.1016/S0020-7519(98)00023-X.
2. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Atenção Primária à Saúde. Departamento de Ações Programáticas. Manual de gestação de alto risco [Internet]. Brasília, DF: Ministério da Saúde; 2022 [cited 2024 Aug 15]. 694 p. Available from: https://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/manual_gestacao_alto_risco.pdf
3. Goldstein EJC, Montoya JG, Remington JS. Management of *Toxoplasma gondii* infection during pregnancy. Clin Infect Dis. 2008;47(4):554-66. doi:10.1086/590149.
4. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Atenção Primária à Saúde. Departamento de Saúde Materno Infantil. Coordenação-Geral de Saúde Perinatal e Aleitamento Materno. Nota Técnica nº 100/2022-CGPAM/DSMI/SAPS/MS. Diretriz nacional para a conduta clínica, diagnóstico e tratamento da Toxoplasmose adquirida na gestação e Toxoplasmose Congênita [Internet]. Brasília, DF: Ministério da Saúde; 2023 [cited 2024 Aug 15]. 14 p. Available from: https://www.cosemssc.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Nota_Tecnica-100-1.pdf
5. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Departamento de Vigilância das Doenças Transmissíveis. Protocolo de Notificação e Investigação: Toxoplasmose gestacional e congênita [Internet]. Brasília, DF: Ministério da Saúde; 2018 [cited 2024 Aug 16]. 33 p. Available from: https://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/protocolo_notificacao_investigacao_toxoplasmose_gestacional_congenita.pdf
6. Lima Filho CA, Silva MVB, Santos JM, Trindade AMXB, Lima RYC, Silva FLT, et al. Perfil epidemiológico da toxoplasmose adquirida na gestação e congênita no período de 2019 a 2021 na região de saúde de Pernambuco. Rev Eletrônica Acervo Saúde. 2023;23(5):1-10. doi:10.25248/reas.e11828.2023.
7. Kasai IAY, Romero JS, Melo YS, Arfox MI, Santos Júnior GC, Carvalho MM, et al. Epidemiologia da toxoplasmose gestacional e congênita no estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, de 2010 a 2022. Contribuciones Las Cienc Soc. 2023;16(12):32662-82. doi:10.55905/revconv.16n.12-215.
8. Soares JAS, Holzmann APF, Alves BBS, Lima CFQ, Caldeira AP. Perfil de gestantes e crianças acompanhadas por exposição ao *Toxoplasma gondii* num centro de referência: o que mudou 10 anos depois? Rev Bras Saúde Mater Infant. 2023;23:e20220225. doi:10.1590/1806-9304202300000225.
9. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatísticas - IBGE Cidades e Estados: Dourados [Internet]. Brasília, DF: IBGE; [cited 2024 Aug 19]. Available from: https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/ms/dourados/panorama
10. R Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2024.
11. Barbosa MJS. Percepção dos profissionais de saúde da Atenção Básica sobre toxoplasmose no município de Areia-Paraíba [undergraduate thesis]. Areia: Universidade Federal da Paraíba; 2020.
12. Moura FL, Millar PR, Fonseca ABM, Amendoeira MRR. Congenital toxoplasmosis: perception of knowledge and primary prevention measures among healthcare professional and pregnant women treated in public healthcare facilities. Sci Med. 2017;27(1):ID25389. doi:10.15448/1980-6108.2017.1.25389.
13. Inagaki ADM, Souza IES, Araujo ACL, Abud ACF, Cardoso NP, Ribeiro CJN. Conhecimento de médicos e enfermeiros atuantes no pré-natal sobre toxoplasmose. Cogitare Enferm. 2021;26:e70416. doi:10.5380/ce.v26i0.70416.
14. Fidelis FAM, Barbosa GC, Corrente JE, Komuro JE, Papini SJ. Satisfação e sobrecarga na atuação de profissionais em saúde mental. Esc Anna Nery. 2021;25(3):e20200309. doi:10.1590/2177-9465-EAN-2020-0309.
15. Santos JVC, Carvalho GA, Brandespim DF, Ramos RAN. Conhecimento dos profissionais de saúde acerca da toxoplasmose gestacional e congênita. Med Vet. 2023;16(4):249-56. doi:10.26605/medvet-v16n4-5215.
16. Coelho DRA, Luz RO, Melegario CS, Vieira WF, Bahia-Oliveira LMG. Knowledge gaps and educational opportunities in congenital Toxoplasmosis: a narrative review of Brazilian and global perspectives. Trop Med Infect Dis. 2024;9(6):137. doi:10.3390/tropicalmed9060137.
17. Ministério da Saúde. Portaria Nº 204, de 17 de fevereiro de 2016 [Internet]. Brasília, DF: Ministério da Saúde; 2016 [cited 2024 Sept 6]. Available from: https://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/saudelegis/gm/2016/prt0204_17_02_2016.html
18. Djurković-Djaković O, Dupouy-Camet J, Van der Giessen J, Dubey JP. Toxoplasmosis: overview from a one health perspective. Food Waterborne Parasitol. 2019;15:e00054. doi:10.1016/j.fawpar.2019.e00054.
19. Azami SJ, Rahimi HM, Mirjalali H, Zali MR. Unravelling *Toxoplasma* treatment: conventional drugs toward nanomedicine. World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2021;37(48):1-9. doi:10.1007/s11274-021-03000-x.
20. Schneider LA, Garcia NS, Oliveira TC, Apolinário-Coelho JC, Soares-Ferreira PRO, Coelho NMD. Importância da enfermagem na orientação e prevenção da toxoplasmose gestacional. Rev Conexão Eletrônica. 2017;14(1):303-13.
21. Dubey JP, Murata FHA, Cerqueira-Cézar CK, Kwok OCH, Villena I. Congenital toxoplasmosis in humans: an update of worldwide rate of congenital infections. Parasitol. 2021;148(12):1406-16. doi:10.1017/S0031182021001013.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Arquivos de Ciências da Saúde

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.