HUMAN TOXOPLASMOSIS OUTBREAKS AND THE AGENT INFECTING FORM. FINDINGS FROM A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Toxoplasmosis, a worldwide highly prevalent zoonotic infection, is transmitted either by the oocysts, from water and soil, or the tissue cysts, in raw or undercooked infected meat, of Toxoplasma gondii. An ongoing debate is whether there are differences between the clinical and epidemiological chara...

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Published in:Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo 2015-09, Vol.57 (5), p.369-376
Main Authors: Meireles, Luciana Regina, Ekman, Claudio Cesar Jaguaribe, Andrade, Jr, Heitor Franco de, Luna, Expedito José de Albuquerque
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cats
Cyst
Disease Outbreaks
Feces - parasitology
Female
Food Parasitology
Foodborne diseases
Humans
Male
Meat - parasitology
Oocyst
Oocysts
Outbreaks
Parasitology
Toxoplasma
Toxoplasma gondii
Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis - epidemiology
Toxoplasmosis - transmission
TROPICAL MEDICINE
Water - parasitology
Waterborne diseases
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Summary:Toxoplasmosis, a worldwide highly prevalent zoonotic infection, is transmitted either by the oocysts, from water and soil, or the tissue cysts, in raw or undercooked infected meat, of Toxoplasma gondii. An ongoing debate is whether there are differences between the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the outbreaks due to one or the other infective form of the agent. We performed a systematic review, recovering 437 reported outbreaks of which 38 were selected. They were complete reports containing ascribed Toxoplasma infecting form, and clinical and demographic data. There was no gender or age group selection in the outbreaks, which were described more often in the Americas. A large number of individuals were affected when oocysts, associated with soil and water contaminated with cat feces, were considered the transmission source. Onset of symptoms occurred early when the infection was ascribed to meat tissue cysts (11.4 ± 6.7 days) with sharpened temporal distribution of cases, while a broader and prolonged appearance of new cases was observed when oocysts in water were the source of the infection (20 ± 7 days, p < 0.001). Such information may be useful in the design and implementation of control strategies.
ISSN:0036-4665
1678-9946
1678-9946
0036-4665
DOI:10.1590/S0036-46652015000500001