Toxoplasmosis is not passed from person-to-person, except in instances of mother-to-child (congenital) transmission and blood transfusion or organ transplantation. People typically become infected by three principal routes of transmission: Foodborne. Animal-to-human (zoonotic)

When a person becomes infected with T. gondii , the parasite forms cysts that can affect almost any part of the body — often your brain and muscle tissue of different organs, including the heart. If you’re generally healthy, your immune system keeps the parasites in check.

Individuals at risk for toxoplasmosis include fetuses, newborns, and immunologically impaired patients.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , over 60 million people in the United States are infected with the parasite. The people who are most at risk for serious infections are those with compromised immune systems and infants born to mothers with active infection during their pregnancy.

Symptoms of toxoplasmosis

• Swollen lymph glands, especially around the neck.
• Muscle aches and pains.
• Headache.
• Fever.
• Generally feeling unwell.
• Inflammation of the lungs.
• Inflammation of the heart muscle.
• Inflammation of the eye, for example, the retina (at the back of the eye).

Toxoplasmosis is most common in areas with warm, moist climates. More than 50% of the population in Central and Southern Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia are infected with toxoplasmosis. It is also common in France possibly due to the preference of minimally cooked and raw meat.

Most healthy people recover from toxoplasmosis without treatment. Persons who are ill can be treated with a combination of drugs such as pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine, plus folinic acid.

People become infected with toxoplasmosis several ways: Eating food, drinking water, or accidentally swallowing soil that has been contaminated with infected cat feces. Eating raw or undercooked meat from animals (especially pigs, lamb, or wild game) that have been infected with Toxoplasma.

Humans ingesting food, water or dirt contaminated with cat feces can become infected. After the parasite is shed in cat feces, it takes 1-5 days to become infective and then may remain infective for months to years.

Many (up to 90 percent of) babies born with congenital toxoplasmosis experience no immediate symptoms. However, one sign of infection is a premature birth or an abnormally low birth weight.

Caught during pregnancy, toxoplasmosis can cause miscarriage, stillbirth or damage to the baby’s brain and other organs, particularly the eyes. However, most babies born with toxoplasmosis have no obvious damage at birth but develop symptoms, usually eye damage, during childhood or even adulthood.

Many congenital toxoplasmosis cases can be cured with medications. Even children who had severe infections at birth may never show signs of severe long-term damage if they are diagnosed and treated early. Delays in diagnosis and treatment can contribute to a poor prognosis.

Symptoms of the infection vary. Most people who become infected with Toxoplasma gondii are not aware of it because they have no symptoms at all. Some people who have toxoplasmosis may feel as if they have the “flu” with swollen lymph glands or muscle aches and pains that may last for a month or more.

Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by a single-celled protozoan parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, which usually affects warm-blooded animals, including humans. The infection is most commonly acquired from contact with cats and their feces or with raw or undercooked meat.

About 20 percent of the American public is infected with Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that can infect birds and most other animals but that reproduces sexually only in cats.

Treatment for toxoplasmosis varies based on a child’s age and general health. Otherwise healthy kids don’t usually need medicine, since toxoplasmosis goes away on its own in a few weeks or months. Babies with congenital toxoplasmosis and kids with weakened immune systems will need to take anti-parasite medicine.

(2%) can inactivate T. gondii with a long exposure time of at least 3 hours. Tachyzoites and tissue cysts are susceptible to most disinfectants, including l% sodium hypochlorite and 70% ethanol. Tachyzoites are also inactivated at pH < 4.0.

Hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals which are generated by macrophages in a respiratory burst at the beginning of an infection have also been shown to kill protozoa such as Toxoplasma and Leishmania (H Dockrell et al., Infection and Immunity 1984, 43, 451-6).

As the cat feces dry, the oocysts may become aerosolized. They can thus be inhaled by a person changing cat litter or just walking in an area where cats have defecated. An outbreak of toxoplasmosis among patrons of a riding stable was thought to have occurred in this manner.

The prevalence of oocyst shedding in cats is very low (0-1%), even though at least 15-40% of cats have been infected with Toxoplasma at some point. This means very few cats at any one time are actually able to pass their infection on to people.

Dogs and cats can become infected with tapeworms by swallowing infected fleas, while hunting or scavenging, or when eating uncooked meat or offal. Symptoms of flea tapeworm infection in dogs include an itchy bottom, vomiting and diarrhoea.

It’s a parasite found in raw and undercooked meat; unwashed fruits and vegetables; contaminated water; dust; soil; dirty cat-litter boxes; and outdoor places where cat feces can be found. It can cause an illness called toxoplasmosis that can be particularly harmful to you and your unborn baby.

Freezing meat to –12ºC for at least 24 hours will kill most Toxoplasma tissue cysts, but sporulated oocysts can survive at –20ºC for up to 28 days. Washing kitchen utensils and surfaces that have come in contact with raw meat with soap and scalding hot water will kill any bradyzoites or tachyzoites present.

To reduce risk of toxoplasmosis from the environment: Avoid drinking untreated water. Wear gloves when gardening and during any contact with soil or sand because it might be contaminated with cat feces that contain Toxoplasma. Wash hands with soap and water after gardening or contact with soil or sand.

Scientists have long hypothesized that T. gondii plays a role in mental illness, including schizophrenia. But though more than 100 studies have found a correlation, none has shown that the parasite actually causes mental illness.