Toxoplasmosis
(Toxo)
Medical Author: John P. Cunha, DO
Medical Editor: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
What is toxoplasmosis?
Toxoplasmosis (toxo) is an infection caused by a single-celled parasite called
Toxoplasma gondii. The infection is most commonly acquired from contact with cats and their feces or with raw or undercooked meat.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 60 million people in the United States may carry the
Toxoplasma parasite, but very few have symptoms because a healthy immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness.
What factors increase the risk of acquiring toxo?
The following situations potentially expose a person to the
toxoplasma parasite and increase the risk of acquiring toxoplasmosis:
- touching your hands to your mouth after gardening, cleaning a cat's litter
box, or anything that came into contact with cat feces
- eating raw or partly cooked meat, especially pork, lamb, or venison
- touching your hands to your mouth after contact with raw or undercooked meat
- organ transplantation or transfusion (this is rare)
If a woman is pregnant when she is infected with toxo, the
infection can be transmitted from her to the baby with sometimes
catastrophic consequences.
What are the usual symptoms of toxoplasmosis?
Although people infected with toxoplasmosis are often unaware of having this disease, typical symptoms of toxo are flulike symptoms including swollen lymph nodes and muscle aches and pains that last from a few days to several weeks. If your immune system is normal, you cannot get the infection again.
Why do some people develop severe problems from toxo?
Few people with toxo develop symptoms because the immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness. However, anyone with a compromised immune system is at risk for serious problems from toxo. These individuals include those undergoing chemotherapy, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune disorders, and recent organ-transplant recipients.
In these people, an infection that occurred anytime during life can reactivate and cause the severe symptoms of toxoplasmosis such as damage to the eye, brain, or other organs.
Ocular toxoplasmosis, which damages the eyes, can lead to reduced vision, blurred vision, pain (often with bright light), redness of the eye, and sometimes tearing, according to the CDC.
Next: Can toxoplasmosis develop into a more serious illness in babies? »
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