Severe Acquired Toxoplasmosis Caused by Wild Cycle ofToxoplasma gondii, French Guiana

Abstract

From 1998 through 2006, 44 cases of severe primary toxoplasmosis were observed in French Guiana in immunocompetent adults. Toxoplasma gondii isolates exhibited an atypical multilocus genotype. Severe disease in humans may result from poor host adaptation to neotropical zoonotic strains of T. gondii circulating in a forest-based cycle.

The Life Cycle of Toxoplasma gondii in the Natural Environment

“…Compared to the strains of the anthropized environment, the "wild" strains from the Amazonian rainforest in the Guianas exhibited a remarkably high genetic diversity [162,164,165]. Whereas the majority of strains from the adjacent anthropized environment are clustered into a few widespread lineages, the "wild" population of strains does not exhibit any clear genetic clustering/structure nor any linkage disequilibrium, supporting the hypothesis of an important circulation and mixing in this environment.…”

“…This high genetic diversity in tropical wild-life in connection with a sylvatic life cycle has been firstly evoked in French Guiana where severe cases of human toxoplasmosis were detected after eating Amazonian undercooked game or drinking untreated river water [161,162,163]. These cases were due to highly atypical strains, all with unique genotype, as determined by microsatellite analysis [164].…”

Epidemiological aspects of Toxoplasma gondii infection in riverside communities in the Southern Brazilian Amazon

“…were observed in immunocompetent adults (9) . Mercier et al (10) , also in French Guiana, compared T. gondii isolates originating from anthropized suburban areas and from the wild environment and observed that the two environmental populations, wild and anthropized, were genetically well differentiated.…”

Isolation and Genotyping of Toxoplasma Gondii Causing Fatal Systemic Toxoplasmosis in an Immunocompetent 10-Year-Old Cat

“…10 Recently, generalized toxoplasmosis in immunocompetent adult human beings caused by strains of T. gondii exhibiting atypical genotypes that were highly virulent in mice has been described. 3,4 Similar atypical genotypes have been isolated from both domestic and wild mammals. 12,13 A 10-year-old male, neutered domestic shorthair cat was referred to the Small Animal Clinic at the University of Bern (Bern, Switzerland) with a 1-week history of anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever; the symptoms had been unresponsive to treatment with antibiotics (amoxicillinclavulanic acid), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (tolfenamic acid), and antiemetics (metoclopramide).…”