What are the symptoms of human infection with Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that can live in animals and humans. If you have pets at home, you should be more careful. Everyone should know what symptoms will occur if the human body is infected with Toxoplasma gondii, which can provide a certain protective effect on your body.

Toxoplasmosis can be divided into acute and chronic types. Acute toxoplasmosis can be divided into three types: acute infection; acute attack of chronic toxoplasmosis; and explosive. Chronic toxoplasmosis can be divided into three types: latent type, multi-disease type, and asymptomatic type.

1. Acute toxoplasmosis

1. Acute infection:

Severe acute infections are rare. Systemic symptoms may occur. The body temperature may rise to 40 degrees Celsius or higher with chills. It is a remittent fever or a prolonged fever that lasts for 2-3 weeks. As the body temperature rises, the acute symptoms worsen, with severe headaches and muscle pain all over the body, especially in the eyes and back. The face is flushed, the conjunctiva is congested, the expression is dull, the desire is lost, and mental and neurological symptoms such as drowsiness, coma or mania may also occur. Loss of appetite, diarrhea, or constipation. The disease is more serious and can cause death. Some patients may develop macules, morbilliform rash, or erythematous nodular rash that may last for two weeks, while others may have colorless chestnut-shaped rashes or purple-brown scars that last for decades. Lymph nodes, liver, and spleen may also be enlarged. It is often accompanied by meningoencephalitis, hepatitis, pneumonia, myocarditis, pericarditis, and can lead to death. Some patients develop retinitis and choroiditis. Acute infection is systemic, and the damaged area can be the whole body or one or several organs.

A mild acute infection with less obvious systemic symptoms, similar to a cold or acute gastroenteritis.

2. Acute attack of chronic toxoplasmosis

Acute attacks of chronic toxoplasmosis have symptoms similar to those of acute infection. However, since most patients are immune, the symptoms are not too severe. Some patients are born with toxoplasmosis. The primary infection occurs within the placenta. Some acute attacks are due to repeated infections; some are due to the periodic activity of Toxoplasma gondii already in the body, or for some reason the host's immunity is reduced, causing Toxoplasma to suddenly become active.

Except for a few deaths, all cases of acute toxoplasmosis turn into chronic toxoplasmosis, in which Toxoplasma gondii remains dormant in the human body, engaging in periodic activities that mainly destroy the brain and cardiovascular system, accompanying the host throughout his life.

3. Explosive

When the immune system is suppressed, or when suffering from tumors, leukemia, AIDS, or late-stage chronic toxoplasmosis, the patient's immunity is greatly reduced, which can lead to a toxoplasmosis outbreak and cause death. This is the explosive type.

2. Chronic toxoplasmosis

Chronic toxoplasmosis is also called "toxoplasmosis" because patients are unaware that they are sick. Believe that one is naturally less intelligent than others. The disease occurs periodically, or when conditions change, the patient becomes ill. However, the patient does not believe that he is ill, but only thinks that his constitution is weak.

After the initial infection with Toxoplasma gondii, the body develops immunity, which causes Toxoplasma gondii to be in a slow-growing or intermediate-growing state. Cysts or pseudocysts are not static. It can still absorb nutrients slowly and reproduce slowly. Once conditions are met, the cysts or pseudocysts rupture in time to transform from a parasitic state to a pathogenic state and invade new cells. Especially the brain, followed by the heart and eyes. These three parts are not easily reached by antibodies. The proliferation rate of Toxoplasma gondii in these three parts is faster than that in other tissues. Therefore, the number of Toxoplasma gondii is the largest in these three parts. 80% of Toxoplasma gondii is concentrated in the brain.