Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. More than 60 million people in the U.S. have the parasite. Most of them don't get sick. But the parasite causes serious problems for some people. These include people with weak immune systems and babies whose mothers become infected for the first time during pregnancy. Problems can include damage to the brain, eyes and other organs.
You can get toxoplasmosis from
- Waste from an infected cat
- Eating contaminated meat that is raw or not well cooked
- Using utensils or cutting boards after they've had contact with raw meat
- Drinking infected water
- Receiving an infected organ transplant or blood transfusion
Most people with toxoplasmosis don't need treatment. There are drugs to treat it for pregnant women and people with weak immune systems.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Toxoplasmosis
(Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction) - http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/common/toxoplasmosis.html
- Toxoplasmosis(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/
- Toxoplasmosis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Mayo Clinic) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/toxoplasmosis/DS00510/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- TORCH(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/torch/sample.html
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Toxoplasmosis (and HIV)(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/517?lang=eng
Also available in Spanish http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/517?lang=spa
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Toxoplasmosis in People Who Have a Weak Immune System(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/infections/common/parasitic/793.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/infections/common/parasitic/793.printerview.html
- Toxoplasmosis: An Important Message for Cat Owners(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/pdfs/ToxoCatOwners_8.2004.pdf
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Toxoplasmosis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Toxoplasmosis%22
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Toxoplasmosis-associated neovascular lesions treated successfully with ranibizumab and antiparasitic therapy. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18695115&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Prevalent genotypes of Toxoplasma gondii in pregnant women and patients... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18689625&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Toxoplasmosis in pediatric patients. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18645401&tool=MedlinePlus
- Toxoplasmosis -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=toxoplasmosis[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Toxoplasmosis - http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v:project=medlineplus&binning-state=group%3d%3dMedical%20Encyclopedia&query=Toxoplasmosis
- National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-borne, and Enteric Diseases, Division of Parasitic Diseases(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
- Toxoplasmosis(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/parasitic/toxoplasmosis.html
- Toxoplasmosis and Pregnant Women(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/pregnant.html
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Toxoplasmosis in Pregnancy(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/pregnancy/illness/180.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/women/pregnancy/illness/180.printerview.html
- Parasitic Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/parasiticdiseases.html
- Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infections.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Toxoplasmosis is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/