PERCEPTIONS OF TOXOPLASMOSIS AMONG FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge about Toxoplasmosis among female university students. Total number of participants was 30 female students. More than half of them were Malay 20 (67%), Indian 8 (27%) and Chinese 2 (6%). Half of the study participants (50%) mentioned that Toxoplasmosis causes by parasite. About 75% of the participants mentioned that the cat is the vector of Toxoplasmosis. Sick people, pregnant women, cats' owners and young or older people are the high risk groups of getting Toxoplasmosis. About 24% and 13% of the respondents mentioned that Toxoplasmosis transmitted through direct contact with cat and raw meat consumption, respectively. The majority of students (94%) mentioned that infected pregnant woman might give infection to her baby and harm the mother. Good hand hygiene, cats' hygiene, proper human food management and proper food for cat were the prevention measures mentioned by the participants. Conclusion; this study documented the lowest level of knowledge about the disease, symptoms and how to prevent the diseases except for the cognitive effect and the vector of the Toxoplasmosis.