Pathogenesis, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis is an infection occurring in nature. In animals it has been observed in an acute stage1and in a chronic latent stage.2In human beings the following clinical forms have been recognized, characterized chiefly by (1) congenital or neonatal meningoencephalitis, usually associated with hydrocephaly, chorioretinitis, cerebral calcifications and convulsions; (2) atypical encephalitis; (3) postencephalitic sequelae, or (4) pneumonitis associated with fever and a rash. Subclinical forms of the infection have been diagnosed from the presence of specific Toxoplasma-neutralizing antibodies in certain persons and from the delivery of toxoplasmic infants by seemingly healthy mothers.3I recently had the opportunity to study pathologically 5 cases of fatal congenital toxoplasmosis in 2 of which clinical diagnosis had been made and Toxoplasma isolated. The lesions produced by three strains of Toxoplasma were studied in experimental animals. In addition, about 80 patients with uveitis and more than 200 other patients were