Page 62 - MNU-PM503 Parasitology practical book

Pharm D- Clinical Pharmacy Program Third Level Parasitology and virology (PM503)

Toxoplasma gondii

Trophozoite:

a- Crescent-shaped.

b- One pole is more rounded than the other.

c- 6X3 u.

d- Nucleus is eccentric (near the rounded end).

e- Para-nuclear body (near the pointed end).

Definitive host - Domestic cats and their relatives.

intermediate host - Birds, rodents, wild game, animals bred for human

consumption

Infective stage - Oocyst

Mode of infection - Ingesting food or water contaminated with cat feces or other

feces-contaminated materials (eg, soil) or contact with a pet

cat's litter.

- Ingesting undercooked meat containing tissue cysts.

- Rarely, human infection results from blood transfusion or
organ transplantation.

- Rarely, transplacental transmission from mother to fetus
occurs

Diagnostic stage - Tachyzoites

Site of localization - Skeletal muscle

Diagnosis
• Serologic testing

• PCR
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