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Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by a single celled parasitic protozoan called Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, is shown in the image above.

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What is the Primary Host of Toxoplasma gondii?

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What is the Primary Host of Toxoplasma gondii?

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The primary host for Toxoplasma gondii are cats. Infected cats excrete contaminated feces for 1 to 3 weeks after infection. The contaminated feces can then be spread to almost all animals including humans.

https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/294599/Factsheet-Toxoplasmosis-en.pdf

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What does Toxoplasmosis Look like Under a Microscope?

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What does Toxoplasmosis Look like Under a Microscope?

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This is an image of toxoplasmosis in its dormant state under a microscope.

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All people can contract toxoplasmosis; however, infants and people with compromised immune systems are at higher risk of developing extreme symptoms. Toxoplasmosis is not contagious, but toxoplasmosis is able to be transmitted from a mother to her unborn baby if the mother has toxoplasmosis.

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In order to acquire toxoplasmosis, a person must come into contact with an object that is contaminated with Toxoplasma gondii, and then, Toxoplasma gondii must enter the body through ingestion, a scratch, or touching anywhere on the body that is a pathway into the body. Some of the most common ways for people to acquire toxoplasmosis are:

Unclean hands

Cat feces with Toxoplasma gondii

Using contaminated cookware

Consuming food or water that contain Toxoplasma gondii

Infected organ and blood transplants

Handling soil

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Toxoplasmosis does not typically impact most healthy people, but occasionally healthy individuals do experience some symptoms.
Symptoms in healthy people:

Swollen lymph nodes

Fever

Body aches

Fatigue

Headache

While healthy people do not experience significant symptoms from becoming infected with toxoplasmosis, babies and people with compromised immune systems have a greater chance of experiencing severe complications from toxoplasmosis.

Symptoms in babies and people with compromised immune systems:

Seizures

Headaches

Poor coordination

Confusion

Blurred vision

Lung problems

Enlarged liver and spleen

Jaundice

Severe eye infections

Death

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/toxoplasmosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20356249

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Cook food to safe temperatures

Avoid unpasteurized milk

Thoroughly clean kitchenware

Wear gloves outdoors

Clean fruits and vegetables

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Medications such as:

Pyrimethamine (Daraprim)

Sulfadiazine

Clindamycin (Cleocin)

Folinic acid (leucovorin)

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When Toxoplasma gondii enters the eye, the condition is referred to as ocular toxoplasmosis. The picture above is an eye that is being impacted by ocular toxoplasmosis. When toxoplasmosis enters the eye, it can cause loss of vision and complete blindness if left untreated.

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One interesting fact about toxoplasmosis is that most infected people will never show any symptoms.

Another interesting fact is that the CDC estimates there are more than 60 million people in the United States who have toxoplasmosis.

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/index.html

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Toxoplasmosis is considered to be a leading cause of death attributed to foodborne illness in the United States. More than 40 million men, women, and children in the U.S. carry the Toxoplasma parasite, but very few have symptoms because the immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness. However, women newly infected with Toxoplasma during or shortly before pregnancy and anyone with a compromised immune system should be aware that toxoplasmosis can have severe consequences.

Toxoplasmosis is considered one of the neglected parasitic infections of the United States, a group of five parasitic diseases that have been targeted by CDC for public health action.

Image: Toxoplasma gondii in mouse ascitic fluid. Smear. (Credit: DPDx)

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A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. Parasites can cause disease in humans.