Toxoplasmosisisaninfection,whichiscausedbytheparasitetoxoplasmagondii.Upto20%ofthepopulationcarrythepathogenicagent,butonlyafewfeelsymptoms,becausetheimmunesystemhinderstheillnesstobreakout.Pregnantwomenshouldhoweverbeverycautious,asaninfectioncanbedetrimentaltothefoetus.
Toxoplasmagondiibelongstotheprotozoaeandisaparasite,whichcaninfectmanydifferentspeciesofmammals,amongstothershumanbeings.Animalslikecats,pigsandsheepspreadoocystsaswellastissuecysts,whichafteringestionbyhumansareconvertedintotachyzoites,andthesecanbefoundafterwardsinnerveandmuscletissue.Whenapregnantwomanbecomesinfected,thetachyzoitescanreachthefoetusviatheplacenta.
Thesymptomsoftoxoplasmosisareverydifferent,andmostoftheinfectedpersonsdonotreallyfeelill.Atypicalsignofthediseaseisaflu-likesensationwithswollenlymphnodesandmusclepain,whichmaylastformonths.Thesevereformoftoxoplasmosiscausesdamagestothebrain,theeyesandfurtherorgans.Evenwhentheillnesshasceased,areactivechronictypecandevelop.Thetransmissionofthediseasetakesprimarilyplacebytheingestionofcatfeces,e.g.duringworkinthegardenorinthecourseofthepetcare.Butinfectiveagentscanalsoappearinrawmeatorcontaminatedwater.Normallytheclinicalsymptomsdisappearaftersomeweeksevenwithouttreatment,butforpregnantwomenandindividualswithreducedimmunesystematherapywithdrugsshouldbeinitiated.
Thefollowinglaboratorymethodsareavailable:Complementfixation(CF),immunofluorescence(IFT)orELISA.Thedeterminationofvirus-specificIgMantibodiesinfreshorreactivatedinfectionsisofspecialimportance,theIgGtestisusedforthedetectionofimmunity.Ifthereisasevereconnatalillness,anidentificationoftheparasiteoutofperipheralblood,amnioticliquidortissuesamplescanbetried.