Toxoplasmosis

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• No links available

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Women
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. More than 60 million people in the U.S. have the parasite. Most of them don't get sick. But the parasite causes serious problems for some people. These include people with weak immune systems and babies whose mothers become infected for the first time during pregnancy. Problems can include damage to the brain, eyes, and other organs.

You can get toxoplasmosis from :

• Waste from an infected cat
• Eating contaminated meat that is raw or not well cooked
• Using utensils or cutting boards after they've had contact with contaminated raw meat
• Drinking infected water
• Receiving an infected organ transplant or blood transfusion

Most people with toxoplasmosis don't need treatment. There are drugs to treat it for pregnant women and people with weak immune systems.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

• About Toxoplasmosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Toxoplasmosis (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Toxoplasmosis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Symptoms

• Symptoms of Toxoplasmosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Preventing Toxoplasmosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Toxoplasmosis: An Important Message for Cat Owners (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF

Treatments and Therapies

• Treatment of Toxoplasmosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Specifics

• Toxoplasmosis (and the Eye) (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Toxoplasmosis (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Increased Herpes simplex virus 1, Toxoplasma gondii and Cytomegalovirus antibody concentrations...
• Article: Associations of exposure to blood heavy metal mixtures with Toxoplasma infection...
• Article: Clinical characteristics of toxoplasmosis patients in Korea: A retrospective study using...
• Toxoplasmosis -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Children

• Toxoplasmosis (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Women

• People at Increased Risk for Toxoplasmosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Toxoplasmosis and Breastfeeding (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Patient Handouts

• Congenital toxoplasmosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Toxoplasma blood test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Toxoplasmosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Toxoplasmosis: An Important Message for Cat Owners (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF