High diagnostic efficiency of IgM-ELISA with the use of multiple antigen peptides (MAP1) from T. gondii ESA (SAG-1, GRA-1 and GRA-7), in acute toxoplasmosis

The main serological marker for the diagnosis of recent toxoplasmosis is the specific IgM antibody, along with IgG antibodies of low avidity. However, in some patients these antibodies may persist long after the acute/recent phase, contributing to misdiagnosis in suspected cases of toxoplasmosis. In the present study, the diagnostic efficiency of ELISA was evaluated, with the use of peptides derived from T. gondii ESA antigens, named SAG-1, GRA-1 and GRA-7. In the assay referred to, we studied each of these peptides individually, as well as in four different combinations, as Multiple Antigen Peptides (MAP), aiming to establish a reliable profile for the acute/recent toxoplasmosis with only one patient serum sample. The diagnostic performance of the assay using MAP1, with the combination of SAG-1, GRA-1 and GRA-7 peptides, demonstrated better discrimination of the acute/recent phase from non acute/recent phase of toxoplasmosis. Our results show that IgM antibodies to MAP1 may be useful as a serological marker, enhancing the diagnostic efficiency of the assay for acute/recent phase of toxoplasmosis.

Disseminated toxoplasmosis in an immunocompetent patient from Peruvian Amazon

We report a case of severe toxoplasmosis in an immunocompetent patient, characterized by pneumonia, retinochoroiditis, hepatitis and myositis. Diagnosis was confirmed by serology, T. gondii in thick blood smear and presence of bradyzoites in muscle biopsy. Treatment with pyrimethamine plus sulfadoxine was successful but visual acuity and hip extension were partially recovered. This is the first case report of severe toxoplasmosis in an immunocompetent patient from Peru.

Human ocular sparganosis in southern Brazil

We report the first case of human ocular sparganosis in the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. A young female patient presented with three periocular moveable inflammatory masses in her right eye, during two years. By surgical excisional biopsy, a helminth larval stage was removed and identified as sparganum. Clinical, laboratory and epidemiological data on this parasite are presented.

Nephrotic syndrome associated with toxoplasmosis: report of seven cases

The concomitance of nephrotic syndrome and acute infection by Toxoplasma gondii is a rare occurrence in humans. In this paper seven cases of children, ranging from 11 months to 7 year-old, with concomitant nephrotic syndrome and asymptomatic acute T. gondii infection are reported. In one of those patients only the administration of anti-Toxoplasma therapy was enough to control the clinical and laboratory manifestations of the disease. In the other patients it was necessary to introduce corticosteroids or other immunosuppressant drugs. Three patients had complete clinical and laboratory improvement and the remaining showed only a partial response.

Perspectivas do Estudo da Diabetes Ocular numa Consulta Pediátrica

A duração da diabetes mellitus é um factor de risco no aparecimento de complicações oculares. A prevalência da retinopatia diabética é praticamente nula antes dos 10 anos de idade, independentemente da duração da doença, atingindo 95% após 20-30 anos de evolução. Na Consulta de Oftalmologia Pediátrica do Hospital D. Estefânia avaliámos retrospectivamente 62 crianças com diagnóstico de diabetes meliitus tipo I, no intervalo d etempo compreendido entre 1 de Janeiro de 1999 e 31 de Junho de 2000. As idades oscilavam entre os 3 e os 17 anos(média 11,8 anos), tendo sido 29 casos do sexo feminino e 33 do sexo masculino. O período de evolução da doença variava entre 6 meses e 16 anos (média 6,2 anos). Na população estudada constatámos uma incidência de 6,4% de lesões oculares. Vericámos 1 caso (1,6%) de retinopatia de fundo, numa adolescente de 17 anos de idade e 11 anos de evoluão da doença, e 3 casos (4,8%) de catarata bilateral. Na diabetes juvenil a probabilidade de ocorrência de lesões oculares precoces é baixa. Exceptuando a catarata que pode ocorrer com alguma precocidade, a retinopatia clínica é raramente demosntrável antes do inicio da puberdade.

Case-control study of an outbreak of acute toxoplasmosis in an industrial plant in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

Foodborne diseases represent operational risks in industrial restaurants. We described an outbreak of nine clustered cases of acute illness resembling acute toxoplasmosis in an industrial plant with 2300 employees. These patients and another 36 similar asymptomatic employees were diagnosed with anti-T. gondii IgG titer and avidity by ELISA. We excluded 14 patients based on high IgG avidity and chronic toxoplasmosis: 13 from controls and one from acute disease other than T. gondii infection. We also identified another three asymptomatic employees with T.gondii acute infection and also anti-T. gondii IgM positive as remaining acute cases. Case control study was conducted by interview in 11 acute infections and 20 negative controls. The ingestion of green vegetables, but not meat or water, was observed to be associated with the incidence of acute disease. These data reinforce the importance of sanitation control in industrial restaurants and also demonstrate the need for improvement in quality control regarding vegetables at risk for T. gondii oocyst contamination. We emphasized the accurate diagnosis of indexed cases and the detection of asymptomatic infections to determine the extent of the toxoplasmosis outbreak.

IgG AVIDITY WESTERN BLOT USING Toxoplasma gondii rGRA-7 CLONED FROM NUCLEOTIDES 39-711 FOR SERODIAGNOSIS OF ACUTE TOXOPLASMOSIS

Toxoplasmosis is an important cause of congenital infection. The present study was performed to evaluate the usefulness of recombinant (r) GRA-7 cloned from nucleotides (n) 39-711 in discriminating between acute and chronic toxoplasmosis. First, commercial IgM, IgG and IgG avidity ELISAs were used to determine the serological profile of the sera. Serum samples were from 20 symptomatic patients with acute infection (low IgG avidity, IgM positive), 10 with chronic infection (high IgG avidity, IgM negative) and 10 with indeterminate IgG avidity (IgM positive) which were tested for IgG avidity status with an in-house developed IgG avidity Western blot using the rGRA-7 recombinant antigen. All 20 sera from cases of probable acute infection showed bands which either faded out completely or reduced significantly in intensity after treatment with 8 M urea, whereas the band intensities of the 10 serum samples from chronic cases remained the same. Of the 10 sera with indeterminate IgG avidity status, after treatment with 8 M urea the band intensities with six sera remained the same, two sera had completely faded bands and another two sera had significantly reduced band intensities. Discrimination between acute and chronic toxoplasmosis was successfully performed by the in-house IgG avidity Western blot.

TOXOPLASMOSIS-RELATED KNOWLEDGE AMONG PREGNANT AND POSTPARTUM WOMEN ATTENDED IN PUBLIC HEALTH UNITS IN NITERÓI, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

The present study conducted a toxoplasmosis-related knowledge level survey with 400 pregnant and puerperal women attended in public health units in the municipality of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro. Only 111 (27.8%) women claimed to know about the disease. Most of them (n = 289; 72.2%) had never heard about toxoplasmosis nor knew how to prevent the infection by Toxoplasma gondii. A significant difference (p = 0.013) regarding the presence of anti-T. gondii IgG was observed between women who claimed to know about the disease and those who had never heard about it. These results highlight the importance of a systematic serological screening process for toxoplasmosis, as well as the importance of primary prevention by accurate information during prenatal care, an important Public Health action to be implemented.

TOXOPLASMOSIS IN MEXICO: EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SITUATION IN HUMANS AND ANIMALS

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease widely distributed throughout the world, infecting a wide variety of animal species including humans. In Mexico, this parasite has been detected in different parts of the country, particularly in the tropical areas where the parasite can remain infective for long periods of time due to the environmental conditions (i.e. high temperature and humidity over the whole year). Several epidemiological studies have been conducted in both human and animal populations, but despite the wide distribution of the agent in the country, there is a significant lack of knowledge on the parasite transmission, treatment alternatives and control measures. The lack of feral cat populations and control measures in sites of meat production for human consumption are playing a role that has led to the wide spread of the disease in the country, particularly in tropical areas of Southeastern Mexico. For these reasons, this manuscript aims to review the published information on relevant epidemiological aspects of infection with T. gondii in humans and animals from Mexico.

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

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.

Toxoplasma-SPECIFIC IgG SUBCLASS ANTIBODY RESPONSE IN CEREBROSPINAL FLUID SAMPLES FROM PATIENTS WITH CEREBRAL TOXOPLASMOSIS

SUMMARY Cerebral toxoplasmosis can be highly debilitating and occasionally fatal in persons with immune system deficiencies. In this study, we evaluated the Toxoplasma gondii-specific IgG subclass antibody response in 19 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis who had a positive IgG anti-T. gondii ELISA standardized with a cyst antigen preparation. There were no significant differences between the rates of positivity and the antibody concentrations (arithmetic means of the ELISA absorbances, MEA) for IgG1 and IgG2, but the rates of positivity and MEA values for these two IgG subclasses were significantly higher than those for IgG3 and IgG4. The marked IgG2 response in CSF from patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis merits further investigation.

ACUTE TOXOPLASMOSIS IN A BREASTFED INFANT WITH POSSIBLE TRANSMISSION BY WATER

Toxoplasma gondii transmission via breastfeeding has been discussed; however, no cases have been confirmed to date. This article describes a case of acute toxoplasmosis diagnosed in a mother and her six-month-old breastfed infant. The study accounts for the possibility of breast milk transmission and directs both clinicians and pediatricians to the hypothesis that both patients acquired toxoplasmosis via water ingestion.