Congenital Toxoplasmosis

In two cases infection may be serious:

• If the infection is transmitted to the fetus during pregnancy (Congenital Toxoplasmosis)
• Infection or reactivation of a Toxoplasmosis in patients with immunodeficiancy (AIDS,...): Toxo& AIDS

Measures of prophylaxis, early detection of the infection and treatment can avoid Congenital Toxoplasmosis and many long term effects.

On this page You find a short introduction on Congenital Toxoplasmosis. Links lead to further information, You can return to this main-page or follow to other topics.

The consequences of the infection of the fetus can be very different: between subclinic and very serious.
The classical triad of Congenital Toxoplasmosis is

• Chorioretinitis
• Intracranial calcification
• Hydrocephalus

But even the subclinical infection can lead to late-onset problems, most common in the eyes.

For diagnosis You are interested in the following questions:

• Is the mother infected during (or very shortly before) pregnancy?
• Is the fetus infected?
• Is the newborn child infected, shows she/he symptoms?

Any maternal infection should be treated with antibiotic drugs until delivery, a fetal infection too.
The newborn (after diagnosis of a fetal infection or diagnosed at/after birth) should be treated too.

Ways of infection

Oral intake of raw or not well cooked meat or of
contamination with cats feces could lead to human infection.
Congenital Toxoplasmosis results from transplacental infection during pregnancy.

The aim of all medical intervention is the prevention of Congenital Toxoplasmosis.

• Primary prevention is an information about the ways of infection (cats, raw meat) to avoid ingestion or inhalation. This is important for all pregnant women who are "seronegative"
• Secondary prevention is the detection of infected women during pregnancy to start treatment before the fetus gets infected.
• Tertiary prevention is the treatment of infected children to reduce or avoid symptoms.

Austria has a long tradition in serological screening programs during pregnancy. It was the first country to establish a nation-wide screening-program in the year 1975.

For avoiding Congenital Toxoplasmosis:

• Information: About cats, raw meat, .. to avoid infection
• Serological Testing of pregnant women
• Treatment
   

Frequently asked questions

, links and citing in the literature

This page is based upon my experiences at the neonatological ward of the clinic for obstetrics at the university hospital of Graz / Austria. My scientific interests are diagnostic and treatment efficacy and epidemiological aspects of Toxoplasmosis. In research and clinical practice we are working together with the Neonatological Dept. of the University of Vienna, and the Head of their laboratory for Toxoplasmosis, Michael Hayde, MD

More information about neonatology You can find at Neonatology on the Web.

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This page was established by: Alex Trojovsky, MD Mail

member of the Karl-Franzens-University Graz/Austria

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file last changed: August 20^th, 2000.