The Effectiveness of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in the Emotions of Pregnant Women in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The parasite causes toxoplasmosis in human and animals are Toxoplasma gondii which found in the third of human population around the world. T. gondii is an obligate protozoan which parasitizes all warm-blooded animals including human (Liu et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2015). The primary infection in human may happen by direct contact with the faces of an infected domestic cat which play as the main definitive host where the parasite can complete the life cycle (Robert-Gangneuxa & Dardéc, 2012; Sugden et al., 2016). An indirect source of infection occurs when consumption infected raw meat or exposure to soil or drinking water contaminated with the oocytes of the parasite or vertical transmission from mother to her foetus during pregnancy (Robert-Gangneuxa & Dardéc, 2012; Sugden et al., 2016). The symptoms of infection with T. gondii in pregnant women vary according to the stage of pregnancy. Once a pregnant woman got the infection during pregnancy serious symptoms may occur such as neurological and prematurity, disorders of ophthalmic, restricted intrauterine growth, and miscarriage, (Jones et al., 2003; Pessanha et al., 2011).