What is toxoplasmosis symptoms

Toxoplasmosis - Symptoms and causes

Overview

Toxoplasmosis (tok-so-plaz-MOE-sis) is an infection with a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. People often get the infection from eating undercooked meat. You can also get it from contact with cat feces. The parasite can pass to a baby during pregnancy.

Most people infected with the parasite do not have symptoms. Some people get flu-like symptoms. Serious disease most often affects infants and people with weakened immune systems. Toxoplasmosis during pregnancy may cause miscarriage and birth defects.

Most infections don't need treatment. Drug treatment is used for people with more-serious cases, pregnant people, newborns and people with weakened immune systems. Several steps to prevent toxoplasmosis can lower the risk of infection.

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Symptoms

Most people infected with toxoplasmosis do not have any symptoms. They often don't know they're infected. Some people have flu-like symptoms, including:

Fever.
Swollen lymph nodes that may last for weeks.
Headache.
Muscle aches.
Skin rash.

Symptoms of eye disease

The toxoplasma parasites may infect tissues of the inner eye. This can occur in people with healthy immune systems. But the disease is more serious in people with weakened immunity. An infection in the eye is called ocular toxoplasmosis. Symptoms may include:

Eye pain.
Poor vision.
Floaters, which are specks that seem to swim in your vision.

Untreated eye disease can cause blindness.

Effect on people with weakened immune systems

People with weakened immune systems are likely to have more-serious disease from toxoplasmosis. A toxoplasmosis infection from earlier in life may become active again. People at risk include those living with HIV/AIDS, people receiving cancer treatment and people with a transplanted organ.

In addition to serious eye disease, toxoplasmosis can cause severe lung or brain disease for a person with weakened immunity. Rarely, the infection can show up in other tissues throughout the body.

Lung infection may cause:

Breathing problems.
Fever.
Cough.

Toxoplasmosis may cause inflammation of the brain, also called encephalitis. Symptoms may include:

Confusion.
Poor coordination.
Muscle weakness.
Seizures.
Changes in alertness.

Effect on fetus or infant

Toxoplasmosis can pass from the mother to the fetus during a pregnancy. This is called congenital toxoplasmosis.

Infection during the first trimester often causes more-severe disease. It also may result in miscarriage. For some babies with toxoplasmosis, serious disease may be present at birth or appear early in infancy. Medical problems may include:

Too much fluid in or around the brain, also called hydrocephalus.
Severe eye infection.
Irregularities in brain tissues.
An enlarged liver or spleen.

Symptoms of severe disease vary. They may include:

Problems with mental or motor skills.
Blindness or other vision problems.
Hearing problems.
Seizures.
Heart disorders.
Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, also called jaundice.
Rash.

Most babies with toxoplasmosis do not show symptoms. But problems may show up later in childhood or teenage years. These include:

Return of eye infections.
Problems with motor skill development.
Problems with thinking and learning.
Hearing loss.
Slowed growth.
Early puberty.

When to see a doctor

Talk to your health care provider about a test if you are worried about exposure to the parasite. If you are planning a pregnancy or are pregnant, see your provider if you suspect exposure.

The symptoms of severe toxoplasmosis include blurred vision, confusion and loss of coordination. These need immediate medical care, particularly if you have a weakened immune system.

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Causes

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that can infect most animals and birds. It can only go through the entire cycle of reproduction in domestic and wild cats. These are the main hosts for the parasite.

Immature eggs, a middle stage of reproduction, can be in the feces of cats. This immature egg allows for the parasite to make its way through the food chain. It can pass from soil and water to plants, animals and humans. Once the parasite has a new host, the reproduction cycle goes on and causes an infection.

If you're in typical health, your immune system keeps the parasites in check. They stay in your body but are not active. This often gives you lifelong immunity. If you're exposed to the parasite again, your immune system would clear it out.

If your immune system is weakened later in life, parasite reproduction can start again. This causes a new active infection that can lead to serious disease and complications.

People often get a toxoplasma infection one of the following ways:

Cat feces with the parasite. Cats that hunt or who are fed raw meat are more likely to carry toxoplasma parasites. You may get infected if you touch your mouth after touching anything that has been in contact with cat feces. This may be gardening or cleaning a litter box.
Contaminated food or water. Undercooked beef, lamb, pork, venison, chicken and shellfish are all known carriers of the parasite. Unpasteurized goat milk and untreated drinking water also may be carriers.
Unwashed fruits and vegetables. The surface of fruits and vegetables may have the parasite on them.
Contaminated kitchen tool. Parasites may be on cutting boards, knives and other utensils that come into contact with raw meat or unwashed fruits and vegetables.
Infected organ transplant or transfused blood. Rarely, toxoplasma parasites are passed through an organ transplant or blood transfusion.

Risk factors

The parasite is found throughout the world. Anyone can become infected.

Risks of serious disease from toxoplasmosis include things that prevent the immune system from fighting infections, such as:

Infection with HIV/AIDS.
Chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
High-dose steroids.
Drugs that prevent the rejection of transplanted organs.

Prevention

Certain precautions can help prevent toxoplasmosis:

Wear gloves when you garden or handle soil. Wear gloves when you work outdoors. Wash your hands with soap and water afterward.
Don't eat raw or undercooked meat. Use a meat thermometer to make sure meat is cooked enough. Cook whole meats and fish to at least 145 F (63 C) and let rest for at least three minutes. Cook ground meat to at least 160 F (71 C). Cook whole and ground poultry to at least 165 F (74 C).
Don't eat raw shellfish. Do not eat raw clams, mussels or oysters, particularly during pregnancy.
Wash kitchen utensils thoroughly. Wash cutting boards, knives and other utensils with soapy water after contact with raw meats or unwashed fruits and vegetables. Wash your hands thoroughly before and after preparing foods.
Wash all fruits and vegetables. Wash fresh fruits and vegetables before eating, peeling or cooking.
Don't drink unpasteurized goat milk. Avoid unpasteurized goat milk or products made from the milk.
Don't drink untreated water. During pregnancy, do not drink untreated water.
Cover children's sandboxes. Cover sandboxes to prevent outdoor cats from using them as litter boxes.

For cat lovers

If you're pregnant or otherwise at risk of toxoplasmosis, take these steps to protect yourself:

Help your cat stay healthy. Keep your cat indoors. Feed it dry or canned cat food, not raw or undercooked meat.
Avoid stray cats or kittens. Avoid stray cats, especially kittens. Do not get a new cat when you're pregnant.
Have someone else clean the litter box. Clean the box daily, if possible. If someone else can't clean it, wear gloves and a face mask to change the litter. Then wash your hands well.

By Mayo Clinic Staff

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Healthy people (nonpregnant)

Healthy people who become infected with Toxoplasma gondii often do not have symptoms because their immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness. When illness occurs, it is usually mild with “flu-like” symptoms (e.g., tender lymph nodes, muscle aches, etc.) that last for weeks to months and then go away. However, the parasite remains in the person’s body in an inactive state. It can become reactivated if the person becomes immunosuppressed.

Mother-to-child (congenital)

Generally, if a woman has been infected before becoming pregnant, the unborn child will be protected because the mother has developed immunity. If a woman becomes newly infected with Toxoplasma during or just before pregnancy, she can pass the infection to her unborn baby (congenital transmission). The damage to the unborn child is often more severe the earlier in pregnancy the transmission occurs. Potential results can be

A miscarriage
A stillborn child
A child born with signs of congenital toxoplasmosis (e.g., abnormal enlargement or smallness of the head)

Infants infected before birth often show no symptoms at birth but may develop them later in life with potential vision loss, mental disability, and seizures.

Persons with ocular disease

Eye disease (most frequently retinochoroiditis) from Toxoplasma infection can result from congenital infection or infection after birth by any of the modes of transmission discussed on the epidemiology and risk factors page. Eye lesions from congenital infection are often not identified at birth but occur in 20-80% of congenitally-infected persons by adulthood. However, in the U.S. <2% of persons infected after birth develop eye lesions. Eye infection leads to an acute inflammatory lesion of the retina, which resolves leaving retinochoroidal scarring. Symptoms of ocular disease include

Eye pain
Sensitivity to light (photophobia)
Tearing of the eyes
Blurred vision

The eye disease can reactivate months or years later, each time causing more damage to the retina. If the central structures of the retina are involved there will be a progressive loss of vision that can lead to blindness.

Persons with compromised immune systems

Persons with compromised immune systems may experience severe symptoms if they are infected with Toxoplasma while immune suppressed. Persons who acquire HIV infection and were not infected previously with Toxoplasma are more likely to develop a severe primary infection.

Immunocompromised persons who were infected with Toxoplasma at some point before they become immunosuppressed are at risk for developing a relapse (reactivation) of toxoplasmosis. For example, a person who is HIV-infected and who has reactivated Toxoplasma infection can have symptoms that include fever, confusion, headache, seizures, nausea, and poor coordination.

Toxoplasma infection can reactivate in immunocompromised pregnant women who were infected with Toxoplasma before their pregnancy, and this can lead to congenital infection.

Toxoplasmosis in children and adults: treatment, symptoms, diagnosis

A common parasitic infection, toxoplasmosis, develops in the human body as a result of infection with the protozoan microorganism Toxoplasma gondii. The disease spreads in different ways, occurs in acute, latent or chronic form. The causative agent is widespread on all continents of the planet, but the largest proportion of the infected population lives in developing countries, where Toxoplasma is present in the body in 9/10 population. The level of infection in developed countries varies from a quarter to a half of the population, in Russia this figure approaches 30%.

Features and causes of the disease

The causative agent of toxoplasmosis is a unicellular parasite that lives in cells and intercellular space. In addition to the human body, it can penetrate into the organisms of many animals and birds, however, to go through the full path of development, it needs the intestines of a domestic cat or other members of the cat family. As a rule, a cat becomes infected by eating infected rodents or pigeons, after which Toxoplasma, after passing through its intestines, enters the human body through contact with cat feces.

A person for Toxoplasma is an intermediate carrier. After penetration into the body, Toxoplasma is introduced into tissues, enters the bloodstream through the lymph nodes and penetrates through the bloodstream into various organs, including the brain and organs of vision. As a rule, infection occurs:

by ingestion after contact with soil contaminated with the faeces of an infected animal, by eating unwashed fruits or vegetables, by insufficient heat treatment of meat, etc.;
transmissible, by direct contact with the blood or saliva of an infected animal, if there are small wounds, scratches or abrasions on the skin;
vertically, from infected mother to fetus, if the woman became infected during pregnancy.

The main measure for the prevention of toxoplasmosis is to eliminate the risks of the parasite entering the body. Good hygiene is most important in families with pets, especially cats. If the animal is in free-range mode, precautions are especially important: wash your hands thoroughly after each contact, do not allow it to climb on the dining and kitchen tables, do not bring the animal to your face, and do not allow it to sleep in your bed. The danger of infection remains even if the cat does not go out for a walk: Toxoplasma cysts can enter the house on the soles of street shoes.

Manifestations of parasitic infection

The duration of the incubation period from the moment the toxoplasma enters the body until the first symptoms of toxoplasmosis appear varies from several days to three weeks. The disease can occur in acute, latent or chronic form.

Acute toxoplasmosis begins with a sudden rise in temperature, fever, manifestations of intoxication (chills, pain in muscles and joints, loss of appetite). The spleen and liver increase in size, the lymph nodes swell, pink rashes on the skin may appear, dispersed throughout the body. The disease may be accompanied by an inflammatory process in the myocardium, tissues and membranes of the brain. In a severe course of the disease, a lethal outcome is not excluded.
The chronic form of the disease is either asymptomatic or with inexpressive symptoms: the patient quickly gets tired, feels weak and general weakness, a slight increase in temperature is possible. If Toxoplasma penetrates into the nervous tissue, brain or organs of vision, headaches, dizziness, blurred vision and memory are possible. With damage to the internal organs, myocarditis, hepatitis or pneumonia may develop. As a rule, the disease continues for many years with periodic exacerbations.
The latent form is characteristic of the vast majority of people and occurs in 95-98% of cases of infection. Two or three weeks after the parasite enters the body, a person feels a slight malaise, which soon disappears by itself. The presence of Toxoplasma is usually detected during the treatment of other diseases.

The disease can be acquired or congenital. Toxoplasmosis is most dangerous during pregnancy, since the parasite, penetrating into the tissues of the fetus, disrupts their natural development. The result of infection can be a wide range of pathologies, from spontaneous interruption of gestation to various birth defects in a child affecting the organs of vision, the brain and spinal cord.

With intrauterine infection, the fetus develops irreversible changes that may appear immediately or after several years. Often children with a congenital disease lag behind their peers in development, they develop pathologies of the organs of vision and hearing, microcephaly, mental retardation and other disorders. However, negative manifestations are possible only when a woman becomes infected while carrying a child. If pregnancy occurs in a woman with a latent or chronic form of the disease, the child is protected by antibodies that have already been formed in the mother's body by that time.

Diagnostic methods

Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis includes:

blood sampling for a general analysis, the results of which indicate a reduced number of leukocytes and an increased number of lymphocytes and eosinophils;
conducting a test with toxoplasmin, where a positive reaction means either a chronic infection or the presence of antibodies after an illness;
spinal cord puncture performed according to indications;
X-ray of the brain to detect an increased pattern of blood vessels, expansion of interosseous spaces, the presence of calcifications;
if necessary - ultrasound of the internal organs.

The most common way to detect Toxoplasma is by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or immunofluorescence. It is repeated twice, two to three weeks apart, to detect the growth of IgM and IgG antibodies. Antibodies M appear in the blood two weeks after infection, their number begins to decrease no earlier than two months later. The presence of G antibodies indicates either the transition of the disease to a chronic form, or a complete recovery.

To determine toxoplasmosis in newborns, they compare the titer of their antibodies with those of the mother. Congenital disease is evidenced by the presence of IgM and IgG in the child in an amount exceeding maternal indicators by at least four times. If the mother's antibody titer exceeds that of the child, then the transmission of immunoglobulins, and not the parasite, has occurred.

How to get rid of

The method of treating toxoplasmosis is selected depending on the form and course of the disease, as well as the presence of lesions of internal organs. As a rule, the patient is prescribed antiparasitic drugs - most often, chloridine, which is combined with sulfanilamide drugs that enhance its effect. During pregnancy, spiramycin is often prescribed.

Usually drugs are taken in three courses lasting from 5 to 10 days, repeated at weekly intervals. To eliminate the cause of toxoplasmosis in the chronic form, these drugs are not enough; additional immunotherapy with the help of intradermal injections of toxoplasmin is necessary. At the same time, anti-allergic drugs, courses of vitamins and immunity stimulants are prescribed.

With damage to the brain, organs of vision and internal organs, appropriate therapy is prescribed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is treated?

The duration of treatment is determined by the severity of the disease and ranges from one month to a year. In non-immunocompromised patients, complete recovery usually occurs at the end of treatment.

How is toxoplasmosis transmitted from person to person?

The most common route of infection is from animal to human. A sick person rarely transmits the parasite to a healthy person, the most common way of such transmission is from an infected mother to the fetus. It is extremely rare that there are cases of transmission of Toxoplasma through damaged skin or mucous membranes during kissing, sexual intercourse. Even less common is infection through donated blood or a transplanted organ.

Which doctor should I contact for treatment?

Usually, an infectious disease specialist deals with the treatment and diagnosis of toxoplasmosis. It may be necessary to consult a neurologist, ophthalmologist, radiologist and other specialists, depending on the patient's condition.

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IMPORTANT!

The information in this section should not be used for self-diagnosis or self-treatment. In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, only the attending physician should prescribe diagnostic tests. For diagnosis and proper treatment, you should contact your doctor.
For a correct assessment of the results of your analyzes in dynamics, it is preferable to do studies in the same laboratory, since different laboratories may use different research methods and units of measurement to perform the same analyzes.

Toxoplasmosis: causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.

Definition

Toxoplasmosis is a widespread parasitic disease affecting the nervous system, eyes, spleen, liver, and heart. According to WHO, the number of people infected with Toxoplasma is about 1.5 billion people.

Toxoplasmosis is usually asymptomatic in adults. The disease with clinical manifestations often develops in the most susceptible and vulnerable group of the population - children.

Causes of toxoplasmosis

The causative agent of toxoplasmosis is Toxoplasma gondii . Toxoplasma is an intracellular parasite that is capable of asexual reproduction in human tissue cells. In the process of reproduction, accumulations of parasites are formed inside the cell with the formation of pseudocysts. In the case of a chronic process, true cysts with their own membrane are formed.

A person is an intermediate host and becomes infected with sporozoites - invasive forms of Toxoplasma that can enter the body.

Sporozoites are excreted in the faeces of cats, and if personal hygiene rules are violated, a person becomes infected (this explains such a frequent infection with toxoplasma in early childhood due to the behavioral characteristics of children and their hygiene skills that are not developed).

Another form of toxoplasma - cystozoites - they enter the human body when eating the meat of sick animals, if it was poorly thermally processed.

Toxoplasma enters the lymphatic system through the gastrointestinal tract and with the lymph flow into the lymph nodes. At this stage, against the background of intensive reproduction of Toxoplasma, inflammatory changes are formed in the lymphoid tissue. The parasites then enter the systemic circulation and spread throughout the body. Depending on the end point of their migration, the corresponding clinical picture of the disease develops.

Reproduction in the cells of organs is accompanied by the release of toxic waste products of toxoplasma, which can cause allergic reactions in the body.

The immune system eventually destroys all vegetative forms that are capable of reproduction, and only Toxoplasma cysts remain in the body, hidden from immunological surveillance due to the thick shell.

Under the influence of factors that reduce the immune forces of the body (for example, HIV, the use of cytostatics, glucocorticosteroid therapy), it is possible to re-activate Toxoplasma with their further spread throughout the body.

If infection occurs during pregnancy (after the 2nd month), Toxoplasma can enter the fetal circulation and lead to the development of the disease, as well as the formation of severe malformations.

Classification of the disease

Depending on the timing of infection with toxoplasmosis, congenital toxoplasmosis (with intrauterine infection) and acquired (when infection occurred after birth) are distinguished.

With the development of clinical symptoms, mild, moderate and severe forms of toxoplasmosis are distinguished.

Symptoms of toxoplasmosis

The clinical picture of toxoplasmosis depends on the form of the disease.

The most common asymptomatic primary toxoplasma infection, which in the absence of immunodeficiency factors does not manifest itself.

In rare cases, Toxoplasma infection in previously healthy people causes an increase in body temperature, a slight increase and soreness of the lymph nodes, a maculopapular rash, often mistaken for urticaria (red in color with small elevations - papules), and liver enlargement. Even less often, Toxoplasma causes inflammation in the organs of vision.

The incubation period for toxoplasmosis ranges from 3 days to several months. Usually it is asymptomatic, in rare cases, patients complain of weakness and headache.

In the acute form of toxoplasmosis, at the end of the incubation period, the temperature suddenly rises to 39 ° C degrees, severe weakness, headache and muscle pain appear, appetite decreases, sometimes there are rashes on the skin. The rash is distributed evenly throughout the body, rarely occurs on the scalp, palms and feet. The nature of the rash is maculopapular with a tendency to merge. At the same time, the lymph nodes, liver and spleen increase. When the heart is damaged, cardiac arrhythmias are recorded. Mental disorders, loss of consciousness, paresis and paralysis, repeated vomiting, severe headaches are possible - all these symptoms indicate damage to the central nervous system.

In a mild form of acute toxoplasmosis, the disease is manifested by malaise, a slight rise in temperature, nausea, and diarrhea.

Usually acquired toxoplasmosis ends with recovery.

In the chronic course of toxoplasmosis, such a vivid clinical picture is not observed. Symptoms of chronic intoxication are revealed: weakness, loss of appetite, sleep disturbance, discomfort in muscles and joints, fatigue, irritability, headaches, heart palpitations. One of the frequent manifestations of chronic toxoplasmosis is progressive eye damage. In rare cases, convulsions.

A long course of the disease can lead to a decrease in intellectual development and various mental disorders.

Congenital toxoplasmosis is also divided into acute and chronic. In acute congenital toxoplasmosis, the child's condition from the first days is severe, the prognosis is unfavorable.

In the chronic form, damage to the nervous system is often noted with a delay in the mental and physical development of the child.

Milder forms appear at the age of 5-7 years in the form of increased fatigue, seizures and eye damage.

Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis

Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis is carried out on the basis of patient complaints, examination data and a set of laboratory and instrumental methods of examination. The scope of the examination may vary depending on the clinical picture, the severity of the disease, as well as the presence of complications.

The following diagnostic methods can be prescribed to identify the pathogen:

toxoplasma, determination of DNA in blood serum;

Toxoplasma, determination of DNA (Toxoplasma gondii, DNA) in blood serum

Determination of Toxoplasma (Toxoplasma gondii) DNA in blood serum by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with real-time detection. Toxop...

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toxoplasma, DNA determination in effusion;

Toxoplasma gondii DNA detection in effusion

Toxoplasma gondii DNA detection in effusion by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with real-time detection. Toxoplasmosis &nda...

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Toxoplasma, DNA detection in cerebrospinal fluid;

Toxoplasma gondii DNA detection in cerebrospinal fluid

Toxoplasma gondii DNA detection in cerebrospinal fluid by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with real-time detection. ...

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IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii and IgM antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii;

Anti-Toxo-IgG (IgG class antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii)

Class G antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). Class G antibodies are produced against Toxoplasma antigen in acute, subacute, chronic and latent forms...

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Anti-Toxo-IgM

Synonyms: Blood test for antibodies to toxoplasma; IgM antibodies to toxoplasma; Toxoplasmosis IgM. Toxoplasmosis antibodies, IgM Brief description of the study "Antibodies to ...

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avidity of IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii.

Avidity of IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii (anti-Toxo-IgG avidity)

Toxoplasmosis is included in the group of reproductively significant infections, referred to as the TORCH complex (the name is formed by the initial letters in Latin names ...

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Additional diagnostic methods that allow assessing damage to other organs and systems in toxoplasmosis include:

electroencephalography;

Electroencephalography (EEG)

EEG is a safe and painless method for studying the functional state of the brain.

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computed tomography of the brain;

CT scan of the brain and skull

Scanning of the brain, skull and surrounding tissues, which allows diagnosing various pathologies.

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chest x-ray;

Plain chest x-ray

X-ray examination of the structure of the lungs to diagnose various pathologies.

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ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs;

Comprehensive ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs (liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen)

Scanning of the internal organs of the abdominal cavity to assess its functional state and the presence of pathology.

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echocardiography.

Echocardiography

Examination to assess functional and organic changes in the heart, its contractility, as well as the condition of the valvular apparatus.

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Which doctors to contact

If the above complaints appear, you should contact an infectious disease specialist, pediatrician or therapist. The doctor will draw up an individual plan for diagnosis and treatment, as well as, if necessary, appoint consultations of narrow specialists. In the case of the development of symptoms of damage to the nervous system, treatment is carried out in conjunction with a neurologist and psychiatrist. If the heart is damaged, consultation with a cardiologist is required, with the development of allergic reactions - an allergist-immunologist.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis

The treatment of toxoplasmosis includes various tactics of patient management, depending on the form and severity of the disease. With the development of acute toxoplasmosis, etiotropic treatment is used - drugs that act directly on toxoplasma.

Your doctor may recommend taking vitamin supplements with folic acid. In severe cases, glucocorticosteroids are used. For allergic reactions, antihistamines are used. As a symptomatic treatment, depending on the specific case of the disease, sedatives or choleretic agents may be prescribed.

Complications

Complications of toxoplasmosis are more often recorded in the congenital form and in cases of severe immunodeficiency.

The most dangerous group of complications are lesions of the central nervous system with the development of encephalitis (inflammatory lesions of the brain and / or spinal cord), meningitis (inflammation of the membranes of the brain and / or spinal cord), epileptiform (convulsive) syndrome, paralysis, mental disorders.

The most common among all complications is eye damage in the form of progressive myopia, loss of visual fields, chorioretinitis (inflammation of the choroid and retina of the eye) and atrophy of the optic nerve with the development of complete blindness.

If the heart is affected, myocarditis (inflammatory damage to heart cells), as well as life-threatening arrhythmias and heart failure, may develop.

Prevention of toxoplasmosis

The main method of prevention is non-specific measures: it is important to prevent the pollution of playgrounds with cat feces, to carry out timely treatment of pets, to limit pregnant women and children from contact with cats, to thermally process meat, and most importantly, to observe the rules of personal hygiene and teach them to children.

All pregnant women registered with the antenatal clinic are examined for toxoplasmosis. Berman R.E., Kligman R.M., Jenson H.B. Pediatrics according to Nelson: in 5 volumes - 2009. - 824 p.

Uchaikin V.F., Nisevich I.I., Shamsheva O.V. Infectious diseases in children: a textbook. - M.: GEOTAR-Media, 2011. 688 p.

IMPORTANT!

The information in this section should not be used for self-diagnosis or self-treatment. In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, only the attending physician should prescribe diagnostic tests. For diagnosis and proper treatment, you should contact your doctor.
For a correct assessment of the results of your analyzes in dynamics, it is preferable to do studies in the same laboratory, since different laboratories can use different research methods and units of measurement to perform the same analyzes.