Diagram of the life cycle of T. gondii – displays how intermediate hosts (mammals and birds) contain tachyzoites, which are cells that could grow and replicate fast, and could turn into bradyzoits, causing the disease to persist (English and Sttiepen, 2019)

INTENDED AUDIENCE

It is very important to educate the public about the disease, toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is considered to be one of the leading causes of foodborne illness in the United States today and is one of the most neglected parasitic infections in the United States (CDC, 2018). Displaying information about toxoplasmosis, in the form of infographics, in supermarkets, or where places where raw meat is sold, would be beneficial. Having this information in a visible area would be helpful to educate people about the importance of cooking their meat properly. Infographics could also be displayed in safety courses for hunters since animals, such as deer,  also contain T. gondii (Schumacher et al., 2019). 

Additionally, it could be placed in veterinarian clinics or feline adoption centers to educate new feline owners about how they may contract toxoplasmosis  by accidental ingestion after cleaning their litter box or touching anything that has come into contact with the feces (CDC, 2018).

How It’s Spread

Toxoplasmosis is caused by the parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, and it is found on all continents. The parasite is known to infect many homeotherms through ingestion, and members of the Felidae family serve as definitive hosts.

It could be transmitted through the fecal-oral route if the ingested food or water is contaminated with sporulated oocytes from feline feces. Humans could also come into contact with it when changing cat litter or if they consume undercooked or uncooked meat. A mother could also pass the infection to their unborn child if the mother was newly infected with toxoplasmosis just before pregnancy (CDC, 2018). Additionally, eating unwashed fruits and vegetables that could have been contaminated during the production process could result in infection.

symptoms

If an immunocompetent host is infected then they would typically be asymptomatic, but in rare cases, they may experience headaches, muscle aches, fatigue, fever, and chills. However, immunocompromised hosts may experience flu or mononucleosis-like symptoms, severe encephalitis, pneumonitis, or even coma or death. It is important for the general public to learn about toxoplasmosis and how it could spread. It is also considered a One Health disease because it affects humans, animals, and the environment and is a zoonotic disease. Spreading awareness about toxoplasmosis and the ways that one could be infected is important to reduce the chance of being infected.

Treatment

Currently, there is no vaccine for preventing toxoplasmosis, but certain antibiotics could be used to treat it. Those who are immunocompetent may not experience any symptoms but could take over-the-counter medications like Tylenol or Ibuprofen if needed. Affected pregnant women could take an antibiotic called spiramycin if it hasn’t affected the fetus. If the fetus contracted the disease in vitro, it could be treated with the antibiotic pyrimethamine or sulfonamides (Breecher, M. M., Catalado, L. J. 2020).

 

Citations:

Breecher, M. M., & Cataldo, L. J. (2020). Toxoplasmosis. In J. L. Longe (Ed.), Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine (6th ed.). Gale. Credo Reference: https://une.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/galegm/toxoplasmosis/0

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Parasites- Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma infection). Epidemiology & Risk Factors. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/epi.html#mom

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Parasites- Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma infection). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/index.html

 

English E.D., Striepen B. (2019). The cat is out of the bag: How parasites know their hosts. PLOS Biology 17; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000446

 

Melchor, S. J., & Ewald, S. E. (2019). Disease Tolerance in Toxoplasma Infection. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2019.00185

 

Pinto-Ferreira, F., Caldart, E. T., Pasquali, A. K. S., Mitsuka-Breganó, R., Freire, R. L., & Navarro, I. T. (2019). Patterns of Transmission and Sources of Infection in Outbreaks of Human Toxoplasmosis. Wwwnc.cdc.gov, 25(12). https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2512.181565

 

Schumacher, A. C., Elbadawi, L. I., DeSalvo, T., Straily, A., Ajzenberg, D., Letzer, D., Moldenhauer, E., Handly, T. L., Hill, D., Dardé, M.-L., Pomares, C., Passebosc-Faure, K., Bisgard, K., Gomez, C. A., Press, C., Smiley, S., Montoya, J. G., & Kazmierczak, J. J. (2020). Corrigendum to: Toxoplasmosis Outbreak Associated With Toxoplasma gondii-Contaminated Venison—High Attack Rate, Unusual Clinical Presentation, and Atypical Genotype. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 72(9), 1557-1565.  https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciab798