Abstract
Keywords: Toxoplasmosis; Tripoli; Students; Knowledge; Risk Factors Background: Studies have proven a high increase in the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in North African countries, which highlights the need to investigate the degree of awareness among Libyan medical school students of toxoplasmosis and associated risk factors for getting the infection. Primarily, a few studies have evaluated the degree of knowledge on toxoplasmosis among females in Saudi Arabia. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the awareness of toxoplasmosis and its risk factors among undergraduate students at the Medical Faculties at the University Of Tripoli, Libya (UOT). Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional design with a multi-stage random sample of male and female students in the Medical Faculties at the UOT was recruited in this survey for three months using a self-administrated questionnaire including demographic characteristics, epidemiological and risk factors related to toxoplasmosis. Results: Among 268 students, (86.4%) were medical students, and (13.6% ) were pharmacy students. Out of 268 students (76.5%) were female, and (23.5%) were male. Results showed that (79.5%) were aware of toxoplasmosis and its risk factors. For most of them, the faculty curriculum was their source of information. This study showed that some students risk getting toxoplasma gondii infection as (37.3% ) are cat owners and (36.6%) do not follow the proper measures for changing cat litter boxes. However, some students practice some preventive measures, as they do not eat semi-cooked meat (74.3%), do not consume unpasteurized milk (79.1%), and wash fruits and vegetables before consumption (94%). Conclusion: The current study proved that the negative attitude toward toxoplasmosis generates a critical need for improving the educational system. Attempts toward raising awareness to take preventive measures are crucial to avoid the infection, especially in pregnant women, to prevent congenital infection and severe complications of infection in immunocompromised patients.