RT Book, Section A1 Kim, Kami A1 Kasper, Lloyd H. A2 Kasper, Dennis L. A2 Fauci, Anthony S. SR Print(0) ID 1141413547 T1 TOXOPLASMA INFECTIONS T2 Harrison's Infectious Diseases, 3e YR 2017 FD 2017 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781259835971 LK accessbiomedicalscience.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1141413547 RD 2024/03/29 AB Toxoplasmosis is caused by infection with the obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Acute infection acquired after birth may be asymptomatic but is thought to result in the lifelong chronic persistence of cysts in the host’s tissues. In both acute and chronic toxoplasmosis, the parasite is responsible for clinically evident disease, including lymphadenopathy, encephalitis, myocarditis, and pneumonitis. Congenital toxoplasmosis is an infection of newborns that results from the transplacental passage of parasites from an infected mother to the fetus. These infants may be asymptomatic at birth, but most later manifest a wide range of signs and symptoms, including chorioretinitis, strabismus, epilepsy, and psychomotor retardation. In immunocompetent individuals, toxoplasmosis can also present as acute disease (typically chorioretinitis) associated with food- or waterborne sources.