Toxoplasmosis
Kobe Carpenter
What is Toxoplasmosis?
Toxoplasmosis comes from Toxoplasma gondii which is a single-celled parasite.while the parasite is found throughout the world, more than 60 million people in the U.S are already infected by the with the Toxoplasma parasite.
Causes
- eating undercooked and contaminated meat.
- Drinking water that has the disease in it.
- Contact with cat feces.
- Mother-to-child (congenital) transmission.
- Receiving an infected organ or infected blood via transfusion (through this is rare).
Symptoms
- Flu with swollen lymph glands or muscle aches and pains that last a month or more.
- Reduced or blurred vision.
- Pain.
- Redness of the eye.
- Sometimes tearing .
- If severe Toxoplasmosis, causing damage to the brain, eyes, or other organs.
- infants who have will it while their still in the womb will not have it when their born but will be effected later on in life, will aslo have brain or eye damage when born.
Treatments
If you do have toxoplasmosis, you and your health care provider can discuss whether treatment is necessary. In an otherwise healthy people who are not pregnant, treatment is usually not needed. If symptoms occur, they typically go away within a few weeks to months. For pregnant women or people who have weakened immune systems, medications are available to treat toxoplasmosis.
Deaths
About 750 deaths a year and 50%of them are caused by eating contaminated meats