Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis General Information

Infections with various parasites are dangerous and need careful medical attention. The patients should also be informed about the life cycle of these harmful agents that attack their organism, about how they act and how to get rid of them. The protozoan called Taxoplasma gondii is one of the most common parasites in the world and causes a medical condition called Toxoplasmosis. This parasitic infection affects more than 50 million people only in the United States causing flu-like symptoms in the first weeks of infection. But, in most cases, patients do not develop signs and symptoms, dealing with a milder form of the disease. More prone to develop complications of Toxoplasmosis are the people with a damaged immune system (those who are infected with HIV) and the newborns with infected mothers. If the patients are generally healthy they may not need treatment for Taxoplasmosis, but if they have a compromised immune system or are pregnant, then intense therapy with certain medications is needed to reduce the severity of the infection, because if not, Toxoplasmosis becomes fatal. The parasite causing this type of medical condition causes neurological disorders and inflammation of the brain (called encephalitis) and can easily attack important or vital organs such as eyes (leading to the appearance of chorioretinitis), liver or heart.

Toxoplasmosis Symptoms

In the first stages of development, this type of infectious disease is asymptomatic or causes mild flu-like symptoms in patients who have a strong organism. This is why you may not know you have contracted Toxoplasmosis. More affected are the patients with a weakened immune system, for example women who are pregnant or patients carrying HIV. We will do a list of the most common signs and symptoms of this medical condition but you must have in mind that these are not all the possible manifestations caused by Toxoplasmosis. Some signs are particular to some patients because as you know, our immune system reacts in a different way when it is attacked. The main symptoms of the milder form include one or more of the following: headache, fatigue, body aches, fever, swollen lymph nodes or a sore throat. If your immune system has been damaged as a result of chemotherapy, HIV or organ transplant, then you will experience more severe symptoms, such as severe headache, seizures, poor coordination, and blurred vision as the result of a severe inflammation of the retina, confusion or problems with the lungs that may indicate false pneumocystis carinii pneumonia or tuberculosis. As a pregnant woman, if you get Toxoplasmosis, you may not experience the signs and symptoms that we have presented you, but in more than 60% of the cases, the infection will pass to your baby. If you contracted the protozoan in an early stage of your pregnancy, then your baby is seriously affected.

Toxoplasmosis Treatment

If you are at high risk of developing Toxoplasmosis or if you experience any of the signs and symptoms that we have listed then we strongly recommend you to contact your health care provider or any other specialist in this type of medical disorders. If you have serious infections of the eyes, confusion or seizures it is better to seek medical guidance in order to avoid further complication. Your life may be in danger especially if you have a compromised immune system (you live with AIDS or HIV or you are pregnant or intend to become a mother), because side effects often occur. Toxoplasmosis is very difficult to discover because it is usually asymptomatic and when the symptoms do occur, are similar to those of mononucleosis, flu or other common illness. Blood tests usually check for the presence of antibodies especially elaborated for the parasite. The antibodies are actually proteins produced by our immune system in response to the attacks or simple presence of foreign organisms or substances, for example parasites, viruses, toxins, bacteria or drugs.

After the mother is tested and in the case the results are positive, the baby must also be tested. Your doctor may recommend the following two tests: ultrasound scan and amniocentesis to check if your baby is also infected. The last procedure must be done after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy and it consists in removing a small amount of fluid from the amniotic sac (a sac full with fluid that lines the uterus) with a fine needle. The ultrasound scan offers images of the baby in the womb revealing certain abnormal signs. If Toxoplasmosis has evolved to a more severe stage, more tests must be done to check for cysts in the brain and for lesions. The most commonly used tests are the brain biopsy and MRI scan (magnetic resonance imaging). If the results of these tests indicate that the patients suffer from this type of parasitic disease, the health care provider must proceed immediately with applying the appropriate treatment.

If the general health status is good and there are no specific signs and symptoms, the respective individual does not need treatment for this disorder. In the case that Toxoplasmosis affects the patient’s quality of life the doctor may prescribe the following medications: Sulfadiazine (an antibiotic usually used in combination with Pyrimethamine) and Daraprim (Pyrimethamine). This last drug is an antimalarial medicine and a folic acid antagonist, meaning that it stops your body to absorb vitamin B9 (folic acid or B vitamin folate). Your doctor may recommend you some additional folic acids supplements in order to avoid potential adverse effects, for example severe liver toxicity or bone marrow suppression. The patients who live with AIDS or HIV receive the same medication therapy, but in some cases Cleocin (Clindamycin) may be administrated, but in smaller doses because otherwise it can cause severe diarrhea. These patients may complain of severe side effects. Normally, these medications prescribed for Toxoplasmosis must be taken for life.