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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffMost often, you won't know that you've contracted toxoplasmosis, although some people may develop toxoplasmosis symptoms similar to those of the flu or mononucleosis, such as:
- Body aches
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Headache
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Occasionally, a sore throat
If you are living with HIV/AIDS, are receiving chemotherapy or have recently had an organ transplant, you're more likely to develop signs and symptoms of severe toxoplasmosis infection, including:
- Headache
- Confusion
- Poor coordination
- Seizures
- Lung problems that may resemble tuberculosis or Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, a common opportunistic infection that occurs in people with AIDS
- Blurred vision caused by severe inflammation of your retina (ocular toxoplasmosis)
Signs in babies
Most pregnant women with toxoplasmosis don't have signs or symptoms of the disease, but if you become infected for the first time just before or during your pregnancy, you have about a 30 percent chance of passing the infection to your baby (congenital toxoplasmosis), even if you aren't having signs and symptoms yourself.
The risk and severity of your baby's infection often depend on when in your pregnancy you were infected. Your baby is most at risk of contracting toxoplasmosis if you become infected in the third trimester and least at risk if you become infected during the first trimester. On the other hand, the earlier in your pregnancy infection occurs, the more serious the outcome for your baby. Many early infections end in stillbirth or miscarriage, and children who do survive are likely to be born with serious problems, such as:
- Seizures
- An enlarged liver and spleen
- Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
- Severe eye infections
Only a small number of babies who have toxoplasmosis show signs of the disease at birth. Instead, many infected newborns don't develop signs and symptoms of the disease until they're in their teens or later. Those signs and symptoms include:
- Hearing loss
- Mental retardation
- Serious eye infections that may lead to blindness
When to see a doctor
If you're living with HIV or AIDS or are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, talk to your doctor about being tested. The signs and symptoms of severe toxoplasmosis — blurred vision, confusion, loss of coordination — require immediate medical care, particularly if your immune system has been weakened.
- Toxoplasmosis fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/factsheet.html. Accessed May 5, 2009.
- Martin-Rabada P, et al. Blood and tissue protozoa. In: Cohen J, et al. Infectious Diseases. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: Mosby; 2004. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/135708454-2/0/1209/737.html?tocnode=49359306&fromURL=737.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-02407-6..50247-6--cesec17_8111. Accessed May 4, 2009.
- Kasper LH. Toxoplasma infections. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2896423. Accessed May 4, 2009.
- McLeod R, et al. Toxoplasmosis (toxoplasma gondii). In: Kleigman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/135783748-2/0/1608/732.html?tocnode=54480801&fromURL=732.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2450-7..50289-9_6064. Accessed May 4, 2009.
- Toxoplasmosis. March of Dimes. http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1228.asp. Accessed May 6, 2009.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Preventing congenital toxoplasmosis. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2000;49:57. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr4902a5.htm. Accessed May 8, 2009.
- You can prevent toxo. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/brochures/toxo.htm. Accessed May 5, 2009.
- Montoya JG, et al. Diagnosis and management of toxoplasmosis. Clinics in Perinatology. 2005;32:705.
