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Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by the Toxoplasma gondii parasite. It can be transmitted to humans through contact with infected cat feces, undercooked meat from infected animals, or contaminated water or soil.
Many people with toxoplasmosis have no symptoms or only mild flu-like symptoms, but the infection can be more serious in people with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV/AIDS or undergoing chemotherapy. In pregnant women, toxoplasmosis can cause birth defects or miscarriage.
Symptoms of toxoplasmosis may include fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. In some cases, the infection can cause eye infections or brain and nervous system problems.
Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis can be done through blood tests or other laboratory tests. Treatment may not be necessary for people with mild or no symptoms, but medications can be used to treat more severe cases, particularly in people with weakened immune systems or during pregnancy.
Preventing toxoplasmosis involves practicing good hygiene, such as washing hands and surfaces that may be contaminated with cat feces, cooking meat to a safe temperature, and avoiding drinking untreated water or eating unwashed fruits and vegetables. Pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems should take extra precautions to avoid exposure to the parasite.
Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a single-celled parasitic organism that can infect most animals and birds. Because T. gondii infectious organisms are excreted only in cat feces, wild and domestic cats are the parasite's ultimate host.
Although you can't "catch" toxoplasmosis from an infected child or adult, you can become infected if you:
When a person becomes infected with T. gondii, the parasite forms cysts that can affect almost any part of the body — often your brain and muscle tissue of different organs, including the heart.
If you're generally healthy, your immune system keeps the parasites in check. They remain in your body in an inactive state, providing you with lifelong immunity so that you can't become infected with the parasite again. But if your immune system is weakened by disease or certain medications, the infection can be reactivated, leading to serious complications.
Certain precautions can help prevent toxoplasmosis:
If you're pregnant or otherwise at risk of toxoplasmosis or its complications, take these steps to protect yourself:
Most healthy people don't require toxoplasmosis treatment. But if you're otherwise healthy and have signs and symptoms of acute toxoplasmosis, your doctor may prescribe the following drugs:
If you have HIV/AIDS, the treatment of choice for toxoplasmosis is also pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine, with folinic acid (leucovorin). An alternative is pyrimethamine taken with clindamycin (Cleocin).
If you're pregnant and infected with toxoplasmosis, treatment may vary depending on where you receive medical care.
If infection occurred before the 16th week of pregnancy, you may receive the antibiotic spiramycin. Use of this drug may reduce your baby's risk of neurological problems from congenital toxoplasmosis. Spiramycin is routinely used to treat toxoplasmosis in Europe, but is still considered experimental in the United States.
If infection occurred after the 16th week of pregnancy, or if tests show that your unborn child has toxoplasmosis, you may be given pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine and folinic acid (leucovorin). Your doctor will help you determine the optimal treatment.
If your infant has toxoplasmosis or is likely to have it, treatment with pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine and folinic acid (leucovorin) is recommended. Your baby's doctor will need to monitor your baby while he or she is taking these medications.