Serological survey of human toxoplasmosis in mountainous regions of the north-west and south-west parts of Iran (1976-77).

A total of 3,370 plasma samples, collected from residents of three mountainous regions, located in Azerbaijan and Khuzestan provinces, north-west and south-west Iran, were tested for Toxoplasma antibodies by the indirect fluorescent antibody technique. The over-all sero-positive rate was 12.8%, with a general increase in positivity with increasing age. The distribution of antibodies to Toxoplasma was found to be different in different ethnic groups in the regions studied. The Toxoplasma sero-positive rate in these mountainous areas was considerably lower than that in the Caspian Sea littoral, in northern Iran, obtained in our previous study.