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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #364473
Research Project: Detection and Control of Foodborne Parasites for Food Safety

Location: Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory

Title: A review on toxoplasmosis in humans and animals from Egypt

Author
item ABBAS, I.E. - Mansoura University
item VILLENA, I. - Universite De Reims Champagne-Ardenne
item Dubey, Jitender

Submitted to: Microorganisms
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/12/2019
Publication Date: 9/14/2019
Citation: Abbas, I., Villena, I., Dubey, J.P. 2019. A review on toxoplasmosis in humans and animals from Egypt. Parasitology. 7(9):317. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7090317.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7090317

Interpretive Summary: Toxoplasmosis, caused by the single celled parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, continues to be a public health problem worldwide. This parasite infects all warm-blooded hosts, including humans. It causes mental retardation and loss of vision in children, and abortion in livestock. The ingestion of food and water contaminated with resistant stage of the parasite, the oocyst, is a major mode of transmission of this parasite. Of all the hosts infected, only cats are known to excrete oocysts in feces. Cats can excrete millions of oocysts after eating an infected prey, such as a mouse or a bird. Oocysts can survive outdoors for months and they are highly infectious to humans. Wildlife plays plays an important role in the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis. This paper reviews current status of toxoplasmosis in humans and animals in Egypt. It will be of interest to biologists and parasitologists, wildlife biologists, and public health workers.

Technical Abstract: The present paper summarizes prevalence, epidemiology and clinical disease of natural Toxoplasma gondii infections in humans and animals from Egypt. The current situation of toxoplasmosis in Egypt is confusing. There is no central laboratory or group of researchers actively investigating toxoplasmosis in humans or animals, and no reports on the national level are available. Based on various serological tests and convenience samples, T. gondii infections are highly prevalent in humans and animals from Egypt. Living circumstances in Egypt favor transmission of toxoplasmosis. Up to 95% of cats, the key host of T. gondii, are infected with T. gondii; they are abundant in rural and suburban areas, spreading T. gondii oocysts. Many women have been tested in maternity clinics, most with no definitive diagnosis. Toxoplasma gondii DNA and IgM antibodies have been found in blood samples of blood donors. Clinical toxoplasmosis in humans from Egypt needs further investigations using definitive procedures. Reports on congenital toxoplasmosis are conflicting and some reports are alarming. Here, we review critically status of toxoplasmosis in Egypt, which should be useful to biologist, public health workers, veterinarians and physicians.