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 feces 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.]
Definition: Toxoplasmosis is an infection that can threaten the health of an unborn child. It is caused by a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite multiplies in the intestine of cats and is shed in cat feces, mainly into litter boxes and garden soil. You can get the parasite by handling cat litter or soil where there is cat feces. You can also get the parasite from eating undercooked meat (such as rare beef) from animals infected with the parasite.

Causes and risk factors :

* Pregnant women to their Fetus through placenta through:
 Eating uncooked meat.
 Handling with infected cats
 Poor hand hygiene.
 Soil containing cat feces.
 Drinking water contaminated with parasite.
• immunosuppressed persons are at high risk to acquire infection.



Signs and symptoms :

1) S&S related to mother :
- Mild flu.
- Muscle aches.
- Swollen lymph nodes.
2) S&S related to baby :
Babies born with toxoplasmosis can be
affected with:
- Mental retardation.
- Impaired vision.
- Convulsions.
- Deafness.
-unusually large or small head.

Mode of transmission :
• Cats excrete the pathogen in their faeces for a number of weeks after contracting the disease, generally by eating an infected rodent.
• Cat faeces are not generally contagious for the first day or two after excretion,but after about 2 days, the cyst 'ripens' and becomes potentially pathogenic.
• Ingestion of contaminated cat faeces. This can occur through hand-to-mouth contact following gardening, cleaning a cat's litter box, or touching anything that has come into contact with cat faeces.
• Ingestion of raw or undercooked meat, containing Toxoplasma cysts or from using knives, utensils, or contaminated by raw meat.it is source of infection.
• Drinking water contaminated with Toxoplasma.
• Receiving an infected organ transplant or blood transfusion, although this is extremely rare infection source.
• Infected mother transmit infection to her fetus through placenta which called Transplacental infection.




Types :
• Acute Toxoplasmosis
• Chronic Toxoplasmosis
• Congenital Toxoplasmosis- newborn condition caught by mother-to-fetus
.
Diagnosis :
Toxoplasmosis is diagnosed by blood test to check for antibodies as IgG & IgM tests .
Other tests as :
- Serological tests.
- Histological tests.
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

Treatment :
The most effective drugs used for treatment are antibiotic and anti malarial drugs.
• Pyrimethamine (Daraprim): This antimalarial medication is used to treat toxoplasmosis. but it has side effects as it is folic acid antagonist, so your doctor may recommend taking additional folic acid.
• Sulfadiazine. This antibiotic is used in combination with pyrimethamine to treat toxoplasmosis.
• clindamycin — an antibiotic. This is used most often for immunosupprssed people.
• spiramycin — another antibiotic. This is used most often for pregnant women to prevent the infection of their child.

Complications :
 enlarged liver and spleen.
 Jaundice and anemia.
 Hydrocephalus
 Permanent disability such as blindness.
 Spread of infection in person with weakend immuno-system.

Prevention :
Although effective therapy is available for toxoplasmosis, all treatments have side effects and may not protect an unborn child. That's why the best approach is prevention. These precautions can help keep you safe:

• Wear gloves when you garden or handle soil. Wear gloves whenever you work outdoors or handle soil, and then wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, especially before you eat or prepare food.
• Don't eat raw or undercooked meat. undercooked meat, , can harbor toxoplasma organisms. For that reason, cook all red meat until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 F. Don't taste meat before it's fully cooked. Avoid raw cured meat.
• Wash kitchen utensils thoroughly. After preparing raw meat, thoroughly wash cutting boards, knives and other kitchen utensils in hot, soapy water to prevent cross-contamination of other foods. Wash your hands carefully after handling raw meat.
• Wash all fruits and vegetables. If possible, use a vegetable soap to wash fruits and vegetables, especially if you're eating them raw. Otherwise, scrub them carefully.
• Avoid unpasteurized goat's milk. Raw goat's milk and goat's milk products may contain toxoplasma parasites.
• Cover children's sandboxes. If you have children, be sure to cover their sandbox whenever they're done playing. Cats may defecate in an open sandbox.
***For people keeping cats :
• Keep your cat indoors and feed it dry or canned cat food, not raw meat. Cats can become infected from eating infected prey or undercooked meat that contains the parasite.
• Wear gloves during cleaning the garden and the box of your cat, and wash your hand after finishing.
• For pregnant woman, it is preferable to let someone else clean your cat's litter box.