Toxoplasmosis Kyler Cameron

1. To Kyler Cameron s is
x o p las m o

2. Background Information
Toxoplasmosis is an infection that is caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii,
which affects all warm blooded animals including humans. Infection is caught
by eating anything infected or contaminated with the parasite, such as
undercooked or raw meat (including raw cured meat) and unpasteurised goats'
milk or by contact with infected cat faeces or cat litter/soil contaminated with
infected cat feces. If it is acquired for the first time during the pregnancy it can
be passed on to the fetus.

3. How It's Acquired
You can get it by eating
anything that has a
parasite in it like raw or
uncooked meat. You
can also get it by
drinking unpasteurized
goats' milk. The
weirdest way to get it is
by coming in
contact with cat feces.

4. Prevention
Prevention of primary infection is currently best achieved through health
education. Recommendations include adequately cooking meat before
consumption at temperatures of at least 150 degrees F and avoiding
handling raw meat with ungloved hands. Cat owners are warned
to avoid directly handling litter trays or soil that may be contami-
nated with cat feces. Pregnant women especially should avoid
contact with cats or handling litter trays.
There are no vaccines currently
available for T. gondii, although
several are in early in
development. Prevention of
congenital transmission is
possible through early diagnosis
of acute infection in mothers and
administration of a prophylactic
regimen of spiramycin.

5. Symptoms
In non pregnant people
•Minimal or flu-like
•Serious problems with AIDs
patients and people with
immune issues

6. Symptoms
In babies
•Excess fluid on the brain
•Developmental delays
•Epilepsy
•Retinochoroiditis (a light
sensitive film behind the
eyes)

7. Treatment
In non pregnant people
Treatment of toxoplasmosis in immunocompetent patients is usually
unnecessary. In immunocompromised patients, the recommended treatment
is a combination of pyrimethamine given at 25-100 mg daily and
trisulfapyrimidines given at 2-6 g daily, both for a month. Folinic acid can also
be administered to reduce bone marrow depression caused by the
pyrimethamine. Clindamycin has been found to be effective at treating
toxoplasma encephalitis in AIDS patients.

8. Treatment
In pregnant women
In acutely infected pregnant women,
the recommended treatment includes
spiramycin if the fetus has not yet
acquired toxoplasmosis. Spiramycin
is an antibiotic that localizes to the
placenta and has been shown to
reduce placental infection by 60%. It
does have some teratogenic effects,
which must be weighed against the
risk of congenital infection. If the
fetus is infected, the aforementioned
drug combination is administered
instead of spiramycin.

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10. Toxoplasmosis
in action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=sWxgpvzZLx0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Toxoplasma Gondii Emerging Out From Fibrolasts

11. Works Cited
"Cash Counts." Toxoplasmosis: What Are the Symptoms? Web. 27 Mar.
1 2012. http://www.cafamily.org.uk/medicalinformation/conditions
/azlistings /t30_2.html
"Toxoplasmosis." - Life Cycle. Web. 27 Mar. 2012.
2
http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2006/Toxoplasmosis
/lifecycle.html.
3 "Click Here To Play: Toxoplasmosis." Toxoplasmosis. Web. 27 Mar. 2012.
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Toxoplasmosis-91686.html.
4
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control
and. Prevention, 01 Feb. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/
>.