Toxoplasmosis overview: Difference between revisions
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==Epidemiology and Demographics== | ==Epidemiology and Demographics== | ||
Serologic prevalence data indicate that [[toxoplasmosis]] is one of the most common of humans infections throughout the world. Infection is more common in warm climates and at lower altitudes than in cold climates and mountainous regions. High prevalence of infection in France has been related to a preference for eating raw or undercooked meat, while high prevalence in Central America has been related to the frequency of stray cats in a climate favoring survival of [[oocyst]]s. The overall seroprevalence in the United States as determined with specimens collected by the third National Health and Nutritional Assessment Survey (NHANES III) between 1988 and 1994 was found to be 22.5%, with seroprevalence among women of childbearing age (15 to 44 years) of 15%. | Serologic prevalence data indicate that [[toxoplasmosis]] is one of the most common of humans infections throughout the world. Infection is more common in warm climates and at lower altitudes than in cold climates and mountainous regions. High prevalence of infection in France has been related to a preference for eating raw or undercooked meat, while high prevalence in Central America has been related to the frequency of stray cats in a climate favoring survival of [[oocyst]]s. The overall seroprevalence in the United States as determined with specimens collected by the third National Health and Nutritional Assessment Survey (NHANES III) between 1988 and 1994 was found to be 22.5%, with seroprevalence among women of childbearing age (15 to 44 years) of 15%. | ||
==Causes== | |||
Toxoplasmosis is a [[parasitic disease]] caused by the [[protozoan]] ''[[Toxoplasma gondii]]''.<ref name=Sherris>{{cite book | author = Ryan KJ; Ray CG (editors) | title = Sherris Medical Microbiology | edition = 4th ed. | pages = pp. 723–7 |publisher = McGraw Hill | year = 2004 | id = ISBN 0838585299 }}</ref> The parasite infects most [[warm-blooded]] animals, including humans, but the primary host is the felid (cat) family. | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 21:15, 12 December 2012
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii.[1] The parasite infects most warm-blooded animals, including humans, but the primary host is the felid (cat) family. Animals are infected by eating infected meat, by ingestion of faeces of a cat that has itself recently been infected, or by transmission from mother to fetus. Cats have been shown as a major reservoir of this infection. [2] While this is true, contact with infected undercooked meat seems to be a more important cause of human infection in many countries.
Epidemiology and Demographics
Serologic prevalence data indicate that toxoplasmosis is one of the most common of humans infections throughout the world. Infection is more common in warm climates and at lower altitudes than in cold climates and mountainous regions. High prevalence of infection in France has been related to a preference for eating raw or undercooked meat, while high prevalence in Central America has been related to the frequency of stray cats in a climate favoring survival of oocysts. The overall seroprevalence in the United States as determined with specimens collected by the third National Health and Nutritional Assessment Survey (NHANES III) between 1988 and 1994 was found to be 22.5%, with seroprevalence among women of childbearing age (15 to 44 years) of 15%.
Causes
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii.[1] The parasite infects most warm-blooded animals, including humans, but the primary host is the felid (cat) family.
References