Toxoplasmosis
Protozoan parasitic disease / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about toxoplasmosis?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, an apicomplexan.[3] Infections with toxoplasmosis are associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric and behavioral conditions.[8] Occasionally, people may have a few weeks or months of mild, flu-like illness such as muscle aches and tender lymph nodes.[1] In a small number of people, eye problems may develop.[1] In those with a weak immune system, severe symptoms such as seizures and poor coordination may occur.[1] If a woman becomes infected during pregnancy, a condition known as congenital toxoplasmosis may affect the child.[1]
![]() | This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. (May 2023) |
![]() | This article needs attention from an expert in medicine. The specific problem is: convoluted logic in first para of diagnosis. (May 2023) |
Toxoplasmosis | |
---|---|
![]() | |
T. gondii tachyzoites | |
Specialty | Infectious disease |
Symptoms | Often none, during pregnancy (birth defects)[1][2] |
Causes | Toxoplasma gondii[3] |
Risk factors | Eating poorly cooked food, exposure to infected cat feces[3] |
Diagnostic method | Blood test, amniotic fluid test[4] |
Treatment | During pregnancy spiramycin or pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine and folinic acid[5] |
Frequency | Up to 50% of people, 200,000 cases of congenital toxoplasmosis a year[6][7] |
Toxoplasmosis is usually spread by eating poorly cooked food that contains cysts, by exposure to infected cat feces, or from an infected woman to her baby during pregnancy.[3] Rarely, the disease may be spread by blood transfusion or other organ transplant.[3] It is not otherwise spread between people.[3] The parasite is known to reproduce sexually only in the cat family.[9] However, it can infect most types of warm-blooded animals, including humans.[9] Diagnosis is typically by testing blood for antibodies or by testing the amniotic fluid in a pregnant patient for the parasite's DNA.[4]
Prevention is by properly preparing and cooking food.[10] Pregnant women are also recommended not to clean cat litter boxes or, if they must, to wear gloves and wash their hands afterwards.[10] Treatment of otherwise healthy people is usually not needed.[5] During pregnancy, spiramycin or pyrimethamine/sulfadiazine and folinic acid may be used for treatment.[5]
Up to half of the world's population is infected by T. gondii, but have no symptoms.[7] In the United States, approximately 11% of people have been infected, while in some areas of the world this is more than 60%.[3] Approximately 200,000 cases of congenital toxoplasmosis occur a year.[6] Charles Nicolle and Louis Manceaux first described the organism in 1908.[11] In 1941, transmission during pregnancy from a pregnant woman to her baby was confirmed.[11] There is tentative evidence that otherwise asymptomatic infection may affect people's behavior.[12]