The most common causes for which toxoplasmosis occurs, infectious disease that resembles the flu and can cause severe diseases to a child
Raw or insufficiently prepared meat, contaminated water, cat feces, but also soil can be infected with a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis and can infect both animals and humans. The parasite is called toxoplasma gondii and is particularly dangerous, especially in the case of pregnant women who can transmit the infection to the fetus. How can the disease be prevented, how can it be detected and what risks involve?
Most often, people get infected with the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis from insufficiently prepared meat. Most may not have symptoms and may not know that they are infected, according to Mayo Clinic. When the signs appear, they are similar to influenza virus infection. Respectively, fever, increased lymph nodes, headaches and muscle, skin rash.
Most infected have a healthy immune system and have no symptoms.
Miscarriage or severe diseases
The infection with this parasite is especially risky for pregnant women and for children with weakened immune system. The parasite mainly attacks the brain, eyes, but also internal organs.
When it infects the eyes and tissues inside the disease is called eye toxoplasmosis and is characterized by vision disorders, eye pain and the appearance of stains that seem to float in the field. Untreated, the infection can lead to loss of vision.
The infection is transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy leading to spontaneous abortion or congenital malformations, respectively to congenital toxoplasmosis. The infection can pass the placental barrier at any time, the risk of transmission being lower in the first trimester of pregnancy and reaching 90% in the last days of pregnancy, according to the study Congenital toxoplasmosis: The State of the Art, published by Frontiers magazine. However, if the transmission takes place in the first trimester of pregnancy the fetal disease is more severe and has more serious consequences.
The signs of the infection can be visible from birth or may occur during the small childhood. When they occur, the symptoms of infection include hydrocephalus – too much cerefalorahidic fluid accumulated in the brain; severe disorders in the eyes, intracerebral calcifications; enlarged spleen and liver: microcephaly (abnormally small head size); inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord.
According to the study Neonatal serological screening and earli treatment for congenital toxoplasma gondii infection. The New England Regional Toxoplasma Working Group – Neonatal serological screening and early treatment in the case of congenital infection with toxoplasma gondii, published by the National Library of Medicine, most children with congenital toxoplasmosis have no visible infection, but many of them get to develop retina and neurological diseases later.
Three different strains of parasites
Early diagnosis and treatment instituted can reduce from the sequelae of these diseases. According to the above -quoted study, the estimated incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis in the United States is of a case to 1,000, up to 12,000 live births.
Older children, adolescents and adults get to infection following infected meat with parasitic eggs and insufficiently cooked or by unintentionally ingested eggs present in cat feces. Other sources of infection may be contaminated water, vegetables, fruits, crustaceans or soil.
According to the study published by Frontiers, three different stems were identified – I, II and III – but also atypical ones that differ in terms of virulence and epidemiological model. In Europe, 95%of toxoplasma gondii stems that infect people are type II, while, in North America, type II represents 43.9%, type III – 18.2%, the rest being atypical stems. According to the same source, the genotype of the parasite can play an essential role in the severity of the disease, in South America the stems have a higher genetic variability and are usually more virulent.
Measures that reduce the risk of infection
To reduce the risk of infection, meat – especially pork, lamb and game – should be cooked at temperatures over 70 degrees Celsius; Fruits and vegetables should necessarily be washed before being consumed as such or cooked, water should be boiled before consumption, especially if it comes from uncontrolled sources, and cat litter should not be manipulated by pregnant women or people with low immunity.
If this cannot be avoided, the recommendation is to wear gloves at the time of handling and to sanit hands by washing with soap and water, immediately afterwards. It must be said that the parasite eggs need 28-48 hours to become infectious, which is why the liter should be cleaned daily. In fact, the golden rule of avoiding any infection with parasites is to wash your hands regularly with soap and water.
Last but not least, pregnant women should be tested during pregnancy for toxoplasmosis. right Cleveland Clinic, Pregnant women in addition to blood tests can also be tested by amniocentesis and ultrasound to find out if the infection has passed the placenta barrier. Tests for the other people include blood tests, computerized tomography or MRI or even lumbar puncture.
Toxoplasmosis is treated by a combination of antiparasitic and antibiotic drugs that prevent the increase and reproduction of the parasite in the body, at the doctor's indication. Treatment is not indicated for people who have a healthy immune system and have no symptoms. Treatment for toxoplasmosis can only work when parasites are active and cannot eliminate the cysts that the parasites leave in the body.
