Etiology: Toxoplasma

Toxoplasmosis
Cats are the only definitive host for the infective stage of the
Toxoplasma organism, they are not the most common source of human
infection
Etiology
1. Toxoplasmosis is caused by Toxoplasma gondii, a microscopic,
intracellular protozoan.
2. Its life cycle has a sexual phase and an asexual phase.
3. The sexual phase takes place only in the walls of the small intestines
of wild and domestic cats, resulting in oocysts that are passed in the
cats’ feces.
4. A cat will shed millions of oocysts per day, for about 2 to 3 weeks.
5. The asexual phase occurs when the oocysts become infective, or
sporulate, 1 to 5 days after they are passed in the feces. These oocysts
6. When the sporulated oocysts are ingested by an animal, they go to the
animal’s small intestine, enter the tachyzoite stage, penetrate the
intestinal wall, and travel to other parts of the body in lymph and blood.
During this stage, tachyzoites
rapidly multiply in the cytoplasm of monocytes and macrophages.
7. The tachyzoite (asexual) stage, which is called the active or acute
phase, lasts until the host’s immune system produces some immunity
about 2 weeks.
8. Once the immunity develops, the tachyzoites slow their multiplication
rate and become bradyzoites, which accumulate in the cytoplasm of tissue
cells and form cysts.
9. The cysts can be found anywhere in the body, but are most commonly
seen
in skeletal muscle, myocardium, and brain tissue.
10. The bradyzoite (asexual) stage is the inactive phase.
Hosts
*Cats are the only definitive host for T. gondii.
*Other animals, including people, that become infected with T. gondii

are considered intermediate hosts.
Transmission
 Transmission from cats to animals occurs when animals come
in contact
with sporulated Toxoplasma oocysts.
 The oocysts can be found where cats defecate, such as moist
soil.
 Cats also can become infected by coming in direct contact
with the feces from
other infected cats.
 Animals on pasture, such as sheep, pigs, goats, and cattle,
can ingest the
oocysts while they are grazing.
 Rarely people can become infected directly from cats if they
ingest or breathe in the sporulated oocysts from an infected
cat, this can happen when hands become conta
 minated.
 Working in soil without gloves and playing in a sandbox are
other methods of direct infection from cats.
 Infection can also occur after eating unwashed vegetables
from gardens or after drinking contaminated water.
 Oocysts can be carried on the wind or in water to distant
places.
 Transmission can also occur trans placentally in people if a
mother is infected near the time she becomes pregnant or
Toxoplasmosis in Animals
 Many species of animals and birds are susceptible to T.
gondii infection, but clinical disease is rare.
 In sheep and goats, congenital toxoplasmosis can
cause abortion and disease in newborn lambs.
 Dogs are commonly infected but rarely become ill.
 Many cats are infected with T. gondii as kittens or
young adults. Most
of them will be asymptomatic and immune to repeat
infections as adults.
Clinical toxoplasmosis is characterized primarily by
pneumonia of increasing severity, other signs are
Toxoplasmosis in Humans
Every year in the United States, 3000 babies are born with congenital
toxoplasmosis. Unlike congenital toxoplasmosis, toxoplasmosis
acquired after birth most often goes undetected or is characterized
by mild, flu like or mononucleosis-like symptoms, including
swollen lymph nodes in the head and neck, headache, sore
throat, and muscle pain that lasts for a few days to a month or
more. The incubation period is 1 to 2 weeks. In most cases the
disease is self-limiting. because it is controlled by the immune
system.
Severe toxoplasmosis, however, can result in lesions in the eyes
and central nervous system. Latent toxoplasmosis, brought on by
immunosuppression, is characterized by central nervous system
lesions that result in headache, confusion, seizures, and other
Diagnosis
Patient history.
Clinical signs.
Results of diagnostic tests.
(Can lead to a presumptive diagnosis of toxoplasmosis)
diagnostic tests include:
Lymph node biopsy.
Examination of respiratory fluid.
Examination of the retina.
 Women who are pregnant or trying to conceive and who have had contact with
cats may want to have serology testing to determine if has antibodies against
T.gondii, If they do have the antibodies, it greatly reduces the chances of
congenital toxoplasmosis developing in the fetus.
Prevention
Exclude raw and undercooked meat from the diet.Cooking meat to

an
internal temperature of 158° F (70°C) for at least 15 minutes will
kill
the cyst
• Do not drink untreated water from streams, lakes, or rivers.
• Wash hands, cutting boards, and utensils in warm, soapy water
after handling raw meat.
• Wear gloves when working in potentially infected soil in gardens
and flower

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Toxoplasmosis

*Other animals, including people, that become infected with T. gondii

Exclude raw and undercooked meat from the diet.Cooking meat to

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