An Unusually High Prevalence of Ocular Toxoplasmosis in Southern Brazil

Pattern of uveitis in a referral centre in Tunisia, North Africa

“…The proportion of uveitis cases attributed to toxoplasmosis was found to be higher in Brazil, and West Africa. 24,38 Diagnosis of ocular toxoplasmosis was based in our patients on typical clinical features with positive toxoplasma serology, completed in any doubtful case with the assessment of intraocular production of antitoxoplasmal antibodies by aqueous humour analysis. Detection of toxoplasma DNA in ocular fluids by PCR, which may contribute to the diagnosis of ocular toxoplasmosis, could not be performed in our patients.…”

Clinical pattern of ocular toxoplasmosis treated in a referral centre in Serbia

“…2 Formerly considered to result mainly from congenital infection, 3 OT has in the past decades been well established to occur both after congenital and acquired infection. 1,2,[4][5][6][7] Indeed, a greater frequency of acquired than congenital infection in the origin of OT has been reported in several clinical series, both in Europe and in South America. [4][5][6] However, it appears that congenital infections cause a more severe OT.…”

“…1,2,[4][5][6][7] Indeed, a greater frequency of acquired than congenital infection in the origin of OT has been reported in several clinical series, both in Europe and in South America. [4][5][6] However, it appears that congenital infections cause a more severe OT. 6 The geographic differences in the epidemiology of OT reflect the genetic variability in the parasite strains occurring in the respective regions; that is, strains from South America, responsible for the often severe clinical course of toxoplasmosis on this continent, are often type-1, or recombinant, and generally divergent from those in Europe and North America where a vast majority of all isolates belongs to type-2.…”

Genetic polymorphism for IFNγ +874T/A in patients with acute toxoplasmosis

“…The ocular lesion of toxoplasmosis is characterized by necrotizing retinitis or retinochoroiditis (RC) and is the most common cause of posterior uveitis. It is secondary to congenital or acquired disease 1 and appears concomitantly or after the acute episode of infection, with reports of ocular lesions compatible with RC in up to 17.7% of patients infected with T. gondii 4 . However, the pathogenesis of this disease is still uncertain, just as there are unclear factors for the emergence of more severe forms 5 .…”