Association between breakthrough infection with COVID-19 and Toxoplasma gondii: a cross-sectional study

Sci Rep. 2023 Oct 17;13(1):17636. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-44616-3.

Abstract

The breakthrough infection following COVID-19 vaccination has been a subject of concern recently. Evidence suggests that COVID-19 vaccine efficacy diminishes over time due to multiple factors related to the host, and vaccine. Coinfection with other pathogens was claimed earlier as a contributing cause for this phenomenon. Hence, we aimed to stratify the association of post-COVID-19 vaccination breakthrough coinfection with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) and its impact on disease severity. This cross-sectional study included 330 COVID-19-vaccinated patients confirmed by RT-PCR. They were also screened for anti- T. gondii antibodies using ELISA. Toxoplasma seropositive cases' whole blood was screened for DNA using PCR to correlate results with COVID-19 severity. Out of 330 COVID-19 vaccinated patients with breakthrough infection, 34.5% (114 patients) showed positivity for Toxoplasma IgG by ELISA, and none of the cases was IgM positive. Eleven patients (9.6%) of the IgG-positive cases were positive by PCR. Positive PCR cases correlated positively with the Toxoplasma IgG titer (P < 0.001), and the Cutoff point was 191.5. Molecular analysis of Toxoplasma and COVID-19 severity showed that 8 (72.7%), 1 (9.1%), and 2 cases (18.2%) had mild, moderate, and severe courses of the disease, respectively, with no significant correlation. Our study reported a heightened prevalence of latent toxoplasmosis among mild cases of COVID-19 breakthrough infection. Nevertheless, a discernible correlation between latent toxoplasmosis and COVID-19 severity is lacking. Hence, implementing studies on a larger scale could provide a more comprehensive comprehension of this association.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Protozoan
  • Breakthrough Infections
  • COVID-19 Vaccines
  • COVID-19*
  • Coinfection*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Immunoglobulin M
  • Risk Factors
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies
  • Toxoplasma* / genetics
  • Toxoplasmosis* / epidemiology

Substances

  • COVID-19 Vaccines
  • Antibodies, Protozoan
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Immunoglobulin M

Supplementary concepts

  • COVID-19 breakthrough infections