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Toxoplasma gondii, also known as Toxoplasma, is the infectious agent responsible for the disease Toxoplasmosis.

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Toxoplasma gondii was first detected and identified by scientists in North Africa and Brazil roughly 100 years ago. In terms of an infectious agent, Toxoplasma is a protozoan parasite. Toxoplasmosis is typically considered a zoonotic disease, meaning it is transmitted from animal-to-human. However, Toxoplasma can also be transferred from person to person in the case of Mother-to-Child, which is known as Vertical or Congenital transmission.

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This map illustrates the prevalence of Toxoplasmosis within females at 22 years of age. 

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Toxoplasma gondii has spread to all parts of the globe. In fact, it is estimated that nearly a third of all humans could be infected with the asymptomatic form of the virus. Additionally, around 200,000 infants are born with the congenital strain of the virus every year. However, the degree of spread varies globally as the roughly 11% of the U.S. population carries the parasite. Spread of Toxoplasma ramped up in the 1960s due to impurities in meat production and the consumption of animal products that contain the parasite. Since then, the virus has continued to spread via raw animal and plant products as well as through contaminated soil and water.

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Virulence essentially describes the damage or harm done to a host following an infection. In the case of Toxoplasma, the infection is most often completely non-virulent, often appearing completely asymptomatic in healthy individuals. However, in the case of immuno-compromised individuals, they may experience symptoms ranging from muscle-aches and and fever to nausea and seizures. In the special case of developing fetuses, which contract the disease congenitally, they may be born with or develop severe neurological conditions later in life, including blindness and mental disability. However, it appears its virulence has not changed significantly over the course of its studied history.

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Due to Toxoplasmosis gondii's nature as a rather non-virulent pathogen, many people can recover from the initial infection without any medical treatment and live with the asymptomatic form of the disease with little impact on their health. However, in the case of immunocompromised individuals, they may take a drugs such as pyrimethamine or sulfadiazine to treat the infection alongside folinic acid. However, toxoplasmosis offered a great deal to study in terms of Central Nervous System diseases, particularly in the case of HIV and its progression to AIDs. One pivotal advancement in the treatment of toxoplasmosis came indirectly via the development of the highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), which attacks HIV replication. Subsequently, levels of toxoplasmosis among HAART treated patients plummeted due to the restrengthening of their immune system after treatment, allowing the immune system of the patient to deal with the opportunistic infection.

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Due to Toxoplasmosis's unique life cycle and typically low-virulence, not too many full-scale initiatives have been taken to completely curb its spread; however, organizations such as the Center for Disease Control (CDC) have educated people on preventing the spread of Toxoplasmosis by cooking meat-products to an adequate temperature and thoroughly washing fruits and vegetables. Additionally, extra precaution can be taken by cat-owners (particularly those who are pregnant or immunocompromised) to prevent transmission via cat feces. Although more work can be done to prevent the spread, including testing of cats or water supplies or imposing higher quality standards for animal products, education is an important factor in curbing the spread of Toxoplasma gondii.

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Due to Toxoplasma gondii's high prevalence and low virulence, its presence in society has not stirred up much panic or targeted response, meaning the societal ramifications of the infection are not as severe as many other, more well known pathogens. However, studies have shown that the parasite may affect human behavior, even in patients previously considered asymptomatic. Studies conducted in the Czech Republic utilizing Cattell's 16 Personality Factor questionnaire showed that infected men scored higher in attributes such as suspicion, jealousy, and a disregard for rules. However, infected women observed rather opposite effects, scoring on average higher in attributes of warmth and a greater sense of superego. Although the nature of toxoplasmosis's effect on human behavior has not been fully studied, it is interesting to think that some of what we may consider our natural personalities and characteristics may be thanks to Toxoplasma gondii.

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Final Padlet Reflection - Ibrahim Ramadan

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Final Padlet Reflection - Ibrahim Ramadan

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The pathogen I chose to research for my Padlet assignments was Toxoplasma gondii, and I learned a great deal from my research over the course of the last 7 weeks. However, the most interesting or revealing piece of information I learned was just how prevalent this parasite is within humans. I've seen many ranges of how many are infected, but some estimate 30%-50% depending on the rates of raw meat consumption and interaction with cats. Things I thought were really interesting from other diseases were the evolution of different strains and particularly how that played a role in the emergence of various different levels of virulence. For instance, the many variants of Covid-19 exposed how virulence is crucial in determining the potential consequences of a large scale infection and should be take into account alongside the rate of transmission. One aspect of Toxoplasmosis that I thought was really interesting and wanted to share within my padlet posts was the mechanism of infection within the body. In the case of Toxoplasma, it actually travels across endothelial cells to pass through the blood-brain barrier, which is typically considered impenetrable by most pathogens. This method of infection makes Toxoplasmosis unique in terms of its ability to remain undetected by the host immune system.