An overview of seventy years of research (1944 – 2014) on toxoplasmosis in Colombia, South America

Abstract

This paper summarizes prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in humans and animals and associated correlates of infection, clinical spectrum of disease in humans, and genetic diversity of T. gondii isolates from Colombia. Recent studies, especially in the states of Antioquia, Quindío and Cundinamarca, indicate that toxoplasmosis is a major public health problem. Approximately half of the women of child bearing age have T. gondii antibodies, and the clinical disease in congenitally infected children is more severe than in Europe. Limited studies indicate that the strains of T. gondii from Colombia are genetically and phenotypically different than in Europe and North America. However, epidemiological factors, such as the involvement of domestic and/or wild animals in transmission, the distribution of strain diversity by natural geographic regions, and the variation in risk factors between regions that are associated with human infection in Colombia, remain unknown. Areas of research for the future are outlined. This review should be of interest to biologists, veterinarians, physicians, and parasitologists.

Isolation and genetic characterization of viable Toxoplasma gondii from tissues and feces of cats from the central region of China

“…Virulence of T. gondii has been traditionally assessed in outbred mice, and the strains are grouped as virulent if the inoculated mice die of toxoplasmosis, irrespective of the dose. In general, T. gondii strains from Brazil and Colombia are more mouse virulent than the rest of the world (Dubey et al, 2012;Cañón-Franco et al, 2014). However, currently there are no phenotypic characters of a T. gondii strain linking clinical disease in humans, although it has been speculated that higher clinical toxoplasmosis in South America is associated with unusual mouse virulent strains.…”

Fifteen Years of Toxoplasmosis Screening at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, a Diagnostic Reference Center in Venezuela

“…), the authors stated that the prevalence of toxoplasmosis ranges from 0% in some newborns to 93.75% in HIV patients. 44 Screening for toxoplasmosis should be included not only in routine examination for those clinical symptoms suggestive of infection but also in risk groups such as pregnant women and their newborns, in order to implement early treatment and avoid serious outcomes. Moreover, even in pregnant women with negative testing, monthly serological screening should be mandatory, as done in France since 1995.…”

Nanotechnology-Based Approaches in Pediatric Parasitic Infections

“…31 Asymptomatic infections are more common in adult patients; however, lymphadenopathy and ocular toxoplasmosis can exist in some patients. 32 Moreover, primary infection and reactivation of chronic infection are common in immunocompromised patients. 33 These infections if acquired during pregnancy can cause severe damage to the fetus, such as long-term disabling sequelae, stillbirths, or fetal death.…”