Acquired Toxoplasmosis

One of us (S. C. M.) recently became infected with Toxoplasma gondii when working in the laboratory.Brief mention was made of this in a recent publication on acquired toxoplasmosis (Skipper et al., 1954) in which two cases of the glandular variety of the disease and one other possible case resembling typhus fever were described.The laboratory infection is now reported because it furnishes yet another example of mild adeno- pathy, with little constitutional disturbance, due to the toxoplasma.Case ReportOn August 31, 1953, S. C. M., for purposes of animal passage, set out to fill a sterile syringe with mouse peritoneal exudate rich in the Rh strain of toxoplasma.As the needle became blocked he removed it, set it aside point uppermost, and fitted a fresh one.Shortly afterwards he pricked his left third finger on the upturned needle.Realizing what he had done, he tried, unsuccessfully, to make the puncture bleed and applied tincture of iodine.Nine days later (September 9) he felt shivery and tired, suffered from headache, and discovered an enlarged painful gland in the left axilla.On September 12 his temperature was 1020 F. (38.9'C.) and the following day he had a rigor.In spite of a 48-hour course of penicillin, prescribed by his family doctor, his fever continued and ranged between 100 and 103.80 F. (37.8 and 39.9' C.).When examined on September 16 he was sweating and looked ill.The skin of his finger was red where it had been .pricked,and two enlarged, tender, discrete glands, each the size of a walnut, were present in the left axilla.Some smaller tender glands were felt in the posterior triangles of the neck.The edge of the liver could be felt, but it was not tender.The blood