Toxoplasmosis, popularly known as cat disease, is an infectious disease caused by the protozoa Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), whose definitive host is cats and humans. Most of the time, the infection does not cause symptoms; However, if the person has a weakened immune system, signs and symptoms of the infection may be present and the risk of developing more severe forms of the disease may be higher.
The disease is mainly transmitted by the consumption of food contaminated by the parasite cysts or by contact with the faeces of infected cats. In addition, toxoplasmosis can be transmitted from mother to child, but this only occurs when the disease is not diagnosed during pregnancy or treatment is not done correctly.
- Although it does not produce symptoms.
- It is important that toxoplasmosis is properly identified and treated according to the doctor’s advice to avoid complications.
- Such as blindness.
- Seizures and death.
- For example.
Toxoplasmosis can be transmitted by eating raw and poorly disinfected foods, such as raw or undercoated meat, which are contaminated by feces from infected cats or by consumption of contaminated water with parasitic cysts.
Contact with infected cats is not sufficient for the transmission of Toxoplasma gondii, it is necessary that the person is in contact with the faeces of these cats for contamination to occur, since contamination can occur by inhalation or ingestion of the infectious form of the parasite. For example, when cleaning cat litter without protective measures, there may be contact with the infectious form of the parasite.
Because the infectious form of T. gondii can remain infectious in the soil for long periods of time, some animals such as sheep, oxen and pigs, for example, can also become infected with the parasite, which enters the intestinal cells of these animals. Therefore, by eating undercoated meat, the person may also become infected with Toxoplasma gondii. In addition to the consumption of raw meat, consumption of smoked meat or sausages that have not been processed under adequate hygienic conditions, or contaminated water, may also be considered as a means of transmission of the parasite.
Transmission of toxoplasmosis can also occur during pregnancy through the passage of the parasite through the placenta. However, transmission depends on the immune status of the pregnant woman and the stage of pregnancy: when the woman is in the first trimester of pregnancy and has a weakened immune system, there is an increased risk of transmitting the disease to the baby, but the consequences are considered more benign. . Learn more about toxoplasmosis during pregnancy.
In humans, T. gondii has two evolutionary stages, called tachyzoints and bradizoitites, which is the evolutionary form found in raw animal meat. People can get the infection by contacting the parasite cysts in cat faeces or by eating raw or undercoated meat containing bradizoítums.
Cysts and bradizoítes release sporozoys that enter the cells of the intestine and undergo a process of differentiation in tachyzourites. These tachyzoids reproduce and alter cells, and can spread throughout the body and invade other tissues, forming cysts containing several tachyzoids. In pregnant women, after cell rupture, tachyzoites can cross the placenta and reach the baby, causing an infection.
In most cases, toxoplasmosis does not cause symptoms, but when a person’s immunity is low, symptoms similar to those of other infectious diseases, such as influenza and dengue, for example, may be the main:
Symptoms are more common in people with weakened immune systems, such as those undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, who have recently had a transplant, are HIV-positive, or in women who become infected during pregnancy.
In more severe cases, toxoplasmosis can affect the functioning of organs such as the lungs, heart, liver and brain, and symptoms of the severe form are usually severe fatigue, drowsiness, delusions and decreased body strength and movement. Identify symptoms of toxoplasmosis.
Toxoplasma gondii can spread to the bloodstream, especially when the person has a weakened immune system or when treatment for the infection does not start or is not done correctly. Thus, the parasite can reach one or more organs leading to certain complications and consequences of infection, such as:
Eye toxoplasmosis occurs when the parasite reaches the eye and affects the retina, causing inflammation that can lead to blindness if not treated in time. This disease can affect both eyes and visual impairment may be different for each eye, with reduced vision, redness and eye pain.
This complication is most common after an infection during pregnancy, but it can also occur in people with the weaker immune system, although this is rare.
Toxoplasmosis during pregnancy causes congenital toxoplasmosis, when the baby becomes infected with the disease while still in the mother’s uterus. Toxoplasmosis during pregnancy can have serious consequences, such as fetal malformations, low birth weight, premature birth, abortion, or death of the baby at birth.
The consequences for the baby vary depending on the gestational age at which the infection occurred, with an increased risk of complications when the infection occurs closer to the end of pregnancy, with an increased risk of eye inflammation, severe jaundice, enlarged liver, anemia, heart changes, seizures and respiratory changes. In addition, there may be neurological changes, mental retardation, deafness, micro or macrocephaly, for example.
This type of toxoplasmosis is more common in people diagnosed with AIDS and is generally associated with the reactivation of T.gondii cysts in people with latent infection, that is, they have been diagnosed and treated, but the parasite has not been removed from the body. , allowing you to travel to the nervous system.
The main symptoms of this type of toxoplasmosis are headache, fever, loss of muscle coordination, mental confusion, seizures and excessive fatigue. If the infection is not identified and treated, it can lead to coma and death.
Treatment of toxoplasmosis is only done when the person has symptoms of the disease, as the indicated medications can be toxic when used frequently. Therefore, treatment is recommended only in symptomatic cases and in pregnant women diagnosed with the disease.
Treatment of toxoplasmosis should be initiated as soon as the disease is identified, with a blood test that identifies the existence of IgG and IgM antibodies in the body, which occur to combat the protozoa responsible for the disease.
To prevent toxoplasmosis, it is important to take certain precautions, such as:
People with pets should take them to the veterinarian for testing to identify the parasite of toxoplasmosis and deworming the animal, thus avoiding possible transmission of toxoplasmosis and other diseases.