Toxoplasmosis

The acquired form of infection by Toxoplasma gondii in animals and man.

A disease caused by infection with protozoa found in many mammals and birds.

disease with symptoms similar to mononucleosis that can affect a pregnant woman and her unborn child. It may be contracted by consuming inadequately cooked meat or by poor personal hygiene.

A disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma which is carried by animals. Toxoplasmosis can cause encephalitis or hydrocephalus and can be fatal.

Toxoplasmosis is caused by an intracellular protozoan parasite called Toxoplasma gondii (also called a coccidian). The parasite affects both humans and warm-blooded animals. Toxoplasmosis is characterized by tissue cysts that form in the host after infection. Cysts are found primarily in the brain and skeletal and heart muscles but may also be found in other tissue. Toxoplasmosis may be transmitted by consumption of undercooked meat, exposure to cat feces, and congenital infection. If congenital, symptoms of toxoplasmosis include chorioretinitis (i.e., ocular lesions), hydrocephalus, microcephalus, cerebral calcifications, and other neurologic signs. Even if the infection occurs later (e.g., adulthood), there are a number of physical signs and symptoms (e.g., fever, swollen lymph nodes, stiff neck, fatigue, and confusion).

A disease caused by infection with the protozoa toxoplasma gondii, common in many animals and often passed to humans in undercooked meat and from handling cats and their feces. The human body generally fights off the infection with little difficulty, with two major exceptions. A person who has a weakened immune system, such as someone with aids or severe combined immunodeficiency (SC1D), has trouble fighting the infection, which results in an illness much like infectious mononucleosis and sometimes causes severe complications, such as inflammation of various sensitive parts of the eye, encephalitis, and damage to the heart and lungs. Even more seriously, a pregnant woman who contracts toxoplasmosis, especially early in pregnancy, has an increased risk of miscarriage or stillbirth, or her baby may experience after birth various serious problems such as enlargement of the liver and spleen, hydrocephalus, eye and vision problems, and mental retardation and is at increased risk of dying in infancy. Women who are or may be pregnant should be especially careful to eat only fully cooked meat and, if they have cats, to wash their hands carefully after dealing with their cat and its feces.

An infection caused by the organism Toxoplasma gondii, which may be found in cat feces and can be transmitted to humans. May develop as an opportunistic infection in AIDS or HIV-infected patients.

An infection caused by the single- celled parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which is widespread and carried by many people in the United States without symptoms. Toxoplasmosis occurs when the immune system cannot prevent the parasite from causing illness. The infectious parasite that causes toxoplasmosis spends most of its life cycle in cats. An infected cat can shed millions of the parasites every day in its stool. The infection is easily transmitted to other animals sharing an environment with cats. Humans typically become infected in one of two ways: when they have direct contact with cat feces, as when changing cat litter, and accidentally swallow parasites that have contaminated their hands; or when they ingest undercooked pork, lamb, or venison meat from infected animals.

A disease of mammals and birds due to the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, which is transmitted to man via undercooked meat, contaminated soil, or by direct contact. Generally symptoms are mild but severe infection of lymph nodes can occur. Congenital toxoplasmosis, in which a woman infected during pregnancy transmits the organism to her fetus, can produce blindness or mental retardation in the newborn. Severe cases are treated with sulfonamides and pyrimethamine.

Toxoplasmosis is a disease due to infection with protozoa of the genus Toxoplasma. The infection may be acquired from eating raw or undercooked meat, from cats, or from gardening or playing in contaminated soil. It occurs in two forms: an acquired form, and a congenital form. The acquired form may run such a benign course that it is not recognized, the patient scarcely feeling ill. In the congenital form the unborn child is infected by the mother. The congenital form, the incidence of which in the United Kingdom is one in 5,000 pregnancies (one in 2,000 pregnancies in Scotland), may develop in one of two ways. The infant may either appear generally ill, or the brunt of the infection may fall on the nervous system causing hydrocephalus, mental retardation, or loss of sight. In some cases the infection may be so severe that it kills the fetus, resulting in a miscarriage or stillbirth. In other cases the infection is so mild that it is missed until, in later life, the child begins to show signs of eye trouble. As the congenital form of the disease, which is most serious, seems to develop only if the mother acquires the infection during pregnancy, it would appear to be a wise precaution that pregnant women should avoid contact with cats and eating raw or undercooked meat foods.

Infection with the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. It usually is a recurrence of a mild subclinical infection in people with normal immune systems; approx. 30% of the U.S. population have antibodies indicating they have been infected. In those with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or receiving immunosuppressive therapy after an organ transplant, reactivation of dormant organisms may be fatal. Approx. 25% of women infected for the first time during pregnancy pass the infection on to the developing fetus.