It is rare for a human with a fully functioning immune system to develop severe symptoms following infection. However, symptoms may manifest and are often influenza-like: swollen lymph nodes, headaches, fever, and fatigue, or muscle aches and pains that last for a month or more. Īcute toxoplasmosis is often asymptomatic in healthy adults. There is tentative evidence that infection may affect people's behavior. In 1941, transmission during pregnancy from a pregnant parent to her baby was confirmed. Charles Nicolle and Louis Manceaux first described the organism in 1908. Approximately 200,000 cases of congenital toxoplasmosis occur a year. In the United States, approximately 11% of people have been infected, while in some areas of the world this is more than 60%.

Up to half of the world's population is infected by T. During pregnancy, spiramycin or pyrimethamine/ sulfadiazine and folinic acid may be used for treatment. Treatment of otherwise healthy people is usually not needed. Pregnant women are also recommended not to clean cat litter boxes or, if they must, to wear gloves and wash their hands afterwards. Prevention is by properly preparing and cooking food. Diagnosis is typically by testing blood for antibodies or by testing the amniotic fluid in a pregnant patient for the parasite's DNA. However, it can infect most types of warm-blooded animals, including humans. The parasite is known to reproduce sexually only in the cat family. It is not otherwise spread between people. Rarely, the disease may be spread by blood transfusion. Toxoplasmosis is usually spread by eating poorly cooked food that contains cysts, exposure to infected cat feces, and from an infected person to their baby during pregnancy. If a person becomes infected during pregnancy, a condition known as congenital toxoplasmosis may affect the child. In those with a weak immune system, severe symptoms such as seizures and poor coordination may occur. In a small number of people, eye problems may develop. Occasionally, people may have a few weeks or months of mild, flu-like illness such as muscle aches and tender lymph nodes. Infections with toxoplasmosis are associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric and behavioral conditions. Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, an apicomplexan.

Up to 50% of people, 200,000 cases of congenital toxoplasmosis a year Often none, during pregnancy (birth defects) Įating poorly cooked food, exposure to infected cat feces ĭuring pregnancy spiramycin or pyrimethamine/ sulfadiazine and folinic acid

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