Toxoplasmosis

A. What’s Toxoplasmosis???

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite infects most genera of warm-blooded animals, including humans, but the primary host is the felid (cat) family. Animals are infected by eating infected meat, by ingestion of faeces of a cat that has itself recently been infected, or by transmission from mother to fetus. Cats have been shown as a major reservoir of this infection.

Up to one third of the world's population is estimated to carry a Toxoplasma infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that overall seroprevalence in the United States as determined with specimens collected by the National Health and Nutritional Assessment Survey (NHANES) between 1999 and 2004 was found to be 10.8%, with seroprevalence among women of childbearing age (15 to 44 years) of 11%.

During the first few weeks, the infection typically causes a mild flu-like illness or no illness. After the first few weeks of infection have passed, the parasite rarely causes any symptoms in otherwise healthy adults. However, people with a weakened immune system, such as those infected with HIV or pregnant, may become seriously ill, and it can occasionally be fatal. The parasite can cause encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and neurologic diseases and can affect the heart, liver, and eyes (chorioretinitis).

B. Infection has two stages ???

1. Acute toxoplasmosis
   During acute toxoplasmosis, symptoms are often influenza-like: swollen lymph nodes, or muscle aches and pains that last for a month or more. Rarely, a patient with a fully functioning immune system may develop eye damage from toxoplasmosis. Young children and immunocompromised patients, such as those with HIV/AIDS, those taking certain types of chemotherapy, or those who have recently received an organ transplant, may develop severe toxoplasmosis. This can cause damage to the brain or the eyes. Only a small percentage of infected newborn babies have serious eye or brain damage at birth.
2. Latent toxoplasmosis
   Most patients who become infected with Toxoplasma gondii and develop toxoplasmosis do not know it. In most immunocompetent patients, the infection enters a latent phase, during which only bradyzoites are present, forming cysts in nervous and muscle tissue. Most infants who are infected while in the womb have no symptoms at birth but may develop symptoms later in life.

C. Diagnosis

Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in human blood samples may be achieved by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Inactive cysts may exist in a host which would evade detection.

D. Prevention

Prevention toxoplasmosis most important for women and children :

1. If you have pet animals specially cat so you must :

• kept their health and go to veterinarian if they are illness soon.
• don’t give pets raw food (meat and fish must cooked) and don’t give pets chance for get mouse or other animal for food
• discard pet’s faeces to far place from home and covered land
• use gloves when you handling pets
• You must washing your hand after touch pets.

2. Don’t eat raw food (specially meat and fish must cooked)

3. clean fruits and vegetables before cooked or eat

4. clean your hand and kitchen tools specially knife after cut meat or fish with soap

5. don’t drink milk unpasteurized or not yet cooked

6. use gloves before clean waste and gardening

7. check up to doctor before planning pregnant to know since the beginning of the possibility of toxoplasmosis affected so easily for treatment