Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypesSymptomsCausesPreventionDiagnosisTreatmentPrognosisCoping
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Types
Symptoms
Causes
Prevention
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prognosis
Coping
In healthy individuals, this infection doesn’t usually do lasting damage and often shows no symptoms. But people with a weakened immune system and babies born to a person who acquired the infection for the first time in that pregnancy are at risk of more dangerous infections.
Toxoplasmagrows in and affects various parts of the body, including thebrain, eyes, and muscles of the heart and body. It forms bubbles in the tissue called cysts that house the parasite. These cysts may persist after the person is no longer sick.The cysts can reactivate the infection when a person’s immune system weakens.
This article will cover the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment of toxoplasmosis.
Types of Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis may be mild or severe. People with weakened immune systems are at risk of severe disease.This includes people taking certain medications and those with autoimmune disorders, cancer, or certain immune system infections, like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The three primary forms of toxoplasmosis depend on when and how it was contracted, as follows:
How Common Is Toxoplasmosis?More than 40 million people in the United States have toxoplasmosis, but they don’t all get sick. It’s most dangerous to people with a weakened immune system, whether due to an acute infection, reactivation, or chronic toxoplasmosis.
How Common Is Toxoplasmosis?
More than 40 million people in the United States have toxoplasmosis, but they don’t all get sick. It’s most dangerous to people with a weakened immune system, whether due to an acute infection, reactivation, or chronic toxoplasmosis.
Toxoplasmosis Symptoms
The most commonsymptoms of toxoplasmosisin healthy individuals include fever, swollen lymph nodes, and muscle aches and pains. However, many people with toxoplasmosis don’t have any symptoms.
People with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV, have more severe symptoms. This can include brain and eye damage.
People with toxoplasmosis may have the following:
How Long Does Toxoplasma Last?Even in healthy people, symptoms may last weeks or months.After symptoms improve, the person has dormant toxoplasma parasites in their body in cysts. Because these cysts hide the parasite in the body, toxoplasmosis never really goes away.If a previously healthy person with inactive toxoplasmosis infection develops a weakened immune system, the parasite can reactivate and cause disease.
How Long Does Toxoplasma Last?
Even in healthy people, symptoms may last weeks or months.After symptoms improve, the person has dormant toxoplasma parasites in their body in cysts. Because these cysts hide the parasite in the body, toxoplasmosis never really goes away.If a previously healthy person with inactive toxoplasmosis infection develops a weakened immune system, the parasite can reactivate and cause disease.
Even in healthy people, symptoms may last weeks or months.After symptoms improve, the person has dormant toxoplasma parasites in their body in cysts. Because these cysts hide the parasite in the body, toxoplasmosis never really goes away.
If a previously healthy person with inactive toxoplasmosis infection develops a weakened immune system, the parasite can reactivate and cause disease.
Toxoplasmosis Effects on a Fetus or Infant
In pregnant people, active toxoplasmosis infection can cause pregnancy loss or congenital disease of the fetus.
Symptoms of congenital toxoplasmosis may not appear until months or even years after birth. Newborns may appear healthy but have symptoms later in life.
Congenital toxoplasmosis can result in a larger or smaller head than is typical. It can also cause symptoms such as the following:
When to Call a Healthcare ProviderIf you are pregnant and have a swollen lymph node, contact your healthcare provider.If you have any symptoms of toxoplasmosis and have a weakened immune system due to illness or cancer treatment, contact a healthcare provider.
When to Call a Healthcare Provider
If you are pregnant and have a swollen lymph node, contact your healthcare provider.If you have any symptoms of toxoplasmosis and have a weakened immune system due to illness or cancer treatment, contact a healthcare provider.
Humans can acquire toxoplasmosis from exposure to the parasites’ eggs in their environment. The parasite eggs can be in the soil of, for instance, a home garden. Make sure to clean all garden produce well before eating, and always wash your hands after working in the soil.
If you have a cat that goes outside, you can acquire toxoplasmosis. While outside, the cat may come into contact with toxoplasma and acquire an infection. Once infected, the cat has eggs of the parasite in their feces. Cleaning the cat’s litter box, especially if you have a weakened immune system, can lead to toxoplasmosis.
Toxoplasmosis is not considered a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Toxoplasma can be transmitted through sexual contact, but that is atypical.However, it is more likely to cause long-term, chronic infections in people with the STI HIV who have weakened immune systems.
How to Prevent Toxoplasmosis
You can reduce your risk of acquiring toxoplasmosis through food safety measures and avoiding environmental risks.
Food safety measuresinclude:
Environmental safety measuresinclude:
Safety measures for people who live with catsinclude:
Cats Only Transmit Toxoplasma When First InfectedA cat can only transmitToxoplasmawhen they are first infected (for the first one to three weeks).The cat usually has no symptoms. It’s not recommended that a person at higher risk (pregnant or with a weak immune system) find a new home for their cat.
Cats Only Transmit Toxoplasma When First Infected
A cat can only transmitToxoplasmawhen they are first infected (for the first one to three weeks).The cat usually has no symptoms. It’s not recommended that a person at higher risk (pregnant or with a weak immune system) find a new home for their cat.
If a healthcare providersuspects a toxoplasma infection, they typically order tests to look for antibodies to the parasite in the blood.
To determine when someone acquired the infection, which can be important for pregnant people, the test can compare the levels of two types of antibodies—immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG)—as follows:
In some cases, a healthcare provider may also recommend imaging tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scan, to determine if toxoplasmosis has caused any damage to the brain or other organs. They may look into the eyes for lesions.
The healthcare provider may want to examine specific tissues or bodily fluids under a microscope to see if they can see the parasite or cysts directly. For this, they may want to perform a biopsy (removing a small sample of tissue for examination in a lab) or collect cerebrospinal fluid from the spine.
Treatment for toxoplasmosisdepends on the person’s immune health and if they are pregnant, as follows:
A qualified healthcare provider will order testing and provide treatment as required. Doses and duration of medications may vary. Medications used to treat toxoplasmosis include sulfadiazine, Daraprim (pyrimethamine), and folinic acid (leucovorin). In some cases, clindamycin or azithromycin may be used as well.
Most healthy people have no symptoms of toxoplasmosis. People who do have symptoms often recover with no long-term effects. But because these cysts stay in the body, toxoplasmosis never goes away and can reactivate if a person’s immune system weakens.
Children born with congenital toxoplasmosis have symptoms their entire lives. Complications of toxoplasmosis may include:
People with weakened immune systems who acquire a toxoplasmosis infection need to be on medications for the rest of their lives to keep the parasites at bay.
Coping with toxoplasmosis can be challenging, especially for individuals with weakened immune systems or pregnant people. Here are a few strategies that may help:
Pregnant people with toxoplasmosis should consult with a healthcare provider and follow the recommended guidelines to protect the fetus’s health.
Summary
The three forms of toxoplasmosis are acute toxoplasmosis, congenital toxoplasmosis, and chronic toxoplasmosis.
Treatment for toxoplasmosis isn’t needed in most healthy people. Others may get a combination of medicines.
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Toxoplasmosis.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Toxoplasmosis Causes.MedlinePlus.Congenital toxoplasmosis.Nemours KidsHealth.Toxoplasmosis.Hlaváčová J, Flegr J, Řežábek K, Calda P, Kaňková Š.Male-to-female presumed transmission of toxoplasmosis between sexual partners.Am J Epidemiol. 2021;190(3):386-392. doi:10.1093/aje/kwaa198Center for Disease Control and Prevention.Prevention and control.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Toxoplasmosis - Symptoms.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Toxoplasmosis - treatment.Shiojiri D, Kinai E, Teruya K, Kikuchi Y, Oka S.Combination of clindamycin and azithromycin as alternative treatment for Toxoplasma gondii encephalitis.Emerg Infect Dis. 2019;25(4):841-843. doi:10.3201/eid2504.181689
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Toxoplasmosis.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Toxoplasmosis Causes.MedlinePlus.Congenital toxoplasmosis.Nemours KidsHealth.Toxoplasmosis.Hlaváčová J, Flegr J, Řežábek K, Calda P, Kaňková Š.Male-to-female presumed transmission of toxoplasmosis between sexual partners.Am J Epidemiol. 2021;190(3):386-392. doi:10.1093/aje/kwaa198Center for Disease Control and Prevention.Prevention and control.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Toxoplasmosis - Symptoms.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Toxoplasmosis - treatment.Shiojiri D, Kinai E, Teruya K, Kikuchi Y, Oka S.Combination of clindamycin and azithromycin as alternative treatment for Toxoplasma gondii encephalitis.Emerg Infect Dis. 2019;25(4):841-843. doi:10.3201/eid2504.181689
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Toxoplasmosis.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Toxoplasmosis Causes.MedlinePlus.Congenital toxoplasmosis.Nemours KidsHealth.Toxoplasmosis.Hlaváčová J, Flegr J, Řežábek K, Calda P, Kaňková Š.Male-to-female presumed transmission of toxoplasmosis between sexual partners.Am J Epidemiol. 2021;190(3):386-392. doi:10.1093/aje/kwaa198Center for Disease Control and Prevention.Prevention and control.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Toxoplasmosis - Symptoms.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Toxoplasmosis - treatment.Shiojiri D, Kinai E, Teruya K, Kikuchi Y, Oka S.Combination of clindamycin and azithromycin as alternative treatment for Toxoplasma gondii encephalitis.Emerg Infect Dis. 2019;25(4):841-843. doi:10.3201/eid2504.181689
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About Toxoplasmosis.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Toxoplasmosis Causes.
MedlinePlus.Congenital toxoplasmosis.
Nemours KidsHealth.Toxoplasmosis.
Hlaváčová J, Flegr J, Řežábek K, Calda P, Kaňková Š.Male-to-female presumed transmission of toxoplasmosis between sexual partners.Am J Epidemiol. 2021;190(3):386-392. doi:10.1093/aje/kwaa198
Center for Disease Control and Prevention.Prevention and control.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Toxoplasmosis - Symptoms.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Toxoplasmosis - treatment.
Shiojiri D, Kinai E, Teruya K, Kikuchi Y, Oka S.Combination of clindamycin and azithromycin as alternative treatment for Toxoplasma gondii encephalitis.Emerg Infect Dis. 2019;25(4):841-843. doi:10.3201/eid2504.181689
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