CONGENITAL TOXOPLASMOSIS: AN OVERVIEW ON TRANSMISSION, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT WITH REFERENCE TO EGYPT | ||||
| Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology | ||||
| Volume 52, Issue 2, August 2022, Page 193-206 PDF (819.58 K) | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/jesp.2022.257332 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
| NAGLAA F. A. IMAM; MOUSA A. M. ISMAIL; NARDEEN ZAKKA BOCKTOR | ||||
| Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Congenital toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic protozoan infection caused by the intracellular coccidian (phylum Apicomplexa) Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), which has a worldwide distribution. All warm-blooded animals are susceptible to infection and about 30% of the world’s population is affected. The organism is transmitted transplacentally; following initial maternal infection, vertical transmission occurs from an infected pregnant mother to her fetus, mostly in the third trimester of pregnancy. The severity of fetal infection is determined by the pregnancy stage and whether the infected mother had received an efficient treatment in the early gestational period or not. A better prognosis is expected for children whose mothers were treated with anti-Toxoplasma medications. Some factors favor infection transmission and progress of congenital toxoplasmosis as the parasite genotype, the immune status of the mother and the fetal or neonatal ability to develop an immune response against Toxoplasma. Possible outcomes of fetal infection include abortion, intrauterine growth retardation, jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly or intrauterine fetal death. Nervous system complications like intracranial calcifications or hydrocephalus as well as retinochoroiditis are all possible consequences. Commonly, there are no specific symptoms at birth and complications may appear at an older age. Congenital toxoplasmosis is treated by spiramycin in pregnant women, while, drugs were used during late gestation to benefit infected fetus and are also used to treat the newborn after birth. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Congenital toxoplasmosis; transmission; immune response; diagnosis; treatment | ||||
|
Statistics Article View: 111 PDF Download: 152 |
||||
