Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans in China

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic infection of humans and animals, caused by the opportunistic protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa. Infection in pregnant women may lead to abortion, stillbirth or other serious consequences in newborns. Infection in immunocompromised patients can be fatal if not treated. On average, one third of people are chronically infected worldwide. Although very limited information from China has been published in the English journals, T. gondii infection is actually a significant human health problem in China. In the present article, we reviewed the clinical features, transmission, prevalence of T. gondii infection in humans in China, and summarized genetic characterizations of reported T. gondii isolates. Educating the public about the risks associated with unhealthy food and life style habits, tracking serological examinations to special populations, and measures to strengthen food and occupational safety are discussed.

Investigation of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Patients of the Isfahan Province

“…It can infect almost all warm-blooded creatures such as, human, animals, birds and marine mammals (4). Toxoplasma gondii is able to pass both sexual and asexual parts of its life cycle in feline (cat) as the final host, and a wide spectrum of warm-blooded vertebrate hosts including humans as intermediate hosts (5). The parasites pass through the placenta, blood transfusions, infected needles, vegetables contaminated with oocysts and undercooked meat and its' products (6).…”

Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry protein 38 gene: sequence variation among isolates from different hosts and geographical locations

“…Nearly one third of the world's population has been infected with this parasite. In China, about 7.9% of the human population was reported to have been exposed to Toxoplasma gondii (between 2001 and 2004), with sustained growing numbers in recent years (Tenter et al, 2000;Hill and Dubey, 2002;Montoya and Liesenfeld, 2004;Zhou et al, 2011). Normally, infections in animals and humans are asymptomatic; however, the parasite may cause severe disease in pregnant women or immunocompromised humans (Fuentes et al, 2001;Djurkovic-Djakovic, 2002;Petersen, 2007;Dubey, 2010;Robert-Gangneux and Dardé, 2012).…”

The prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in horses in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, northwestern China

“…Humans and animals can be infected mainly through the ingestion of tissue cysts from undercooked or raw meat or through the consumption of food or water contaminated with sporulated oocysts shed by infected felids (KIJLSTRA & JONGERT, 2008). Around the world, approximately one-third of the human population has been infected with T. gondii, and it is estimated that nearly 7.88% of the population in China has been exposed to T. gondii (DUBEY, 2010;ZHOU et al, 2011). Toxoplasmosis is typically asymptomatic in healthy individuals but can cause mortality and morbidity in congenitally infected and immunocompromised patients, such as individuals with AIDS (MONTOYA & LIESENFELD, 2004;BELANGER et al, 1999).…”