The following symptoms and complaints may indicate toxoplasmosis:
Postnatal infection in immunocompromised individuals.
- Flu-like symptoms with fever
- Fatigue
- Pain in the limbs
- Lymphadenopathy (enlargement of lymph nodes), usually in the head and neck area.
- Myalgia (muscle pain)
- Abdominal pain (abdominal pain)
- Maculopapular exanthema – patchy rash with formation of papules (vesicles/nodules).
- Confusion
However, toxoplasmosis is usually (up to 90%) asymptomatic in immunocompromised individuals. If symptoms occur, they usually resolve within a few weeks, but swelling of the lymph nodes may persist for several months.
Postnatal infection in immunocompromised individuals
In immunosuppressed individuals, any organ can in principle be affected, but the most common infections are
- Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) with mental changes, seizures, headache, or paralysis.
- Pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs) with dyspnea (shortness of breath) and fever.
Prenatal infection
In the first trimester/third trimester of pregnancy (transmission/transfer: 4-15%; clinical manifestation: approximately 75%).
- Abortion (miscarriage) (high abortion rate!).
In the second trimester (transmission: about 30%; clinical manifestation: about 30%) and third trimester (transmission: about 60%; clinical manifestation: about 10%).
- Abortion (miscarriage)
- Chorioretinitis – inflammation of the choroid (choroid) with retinal (retina) involvement.
- Hydrocephalus (hydrocephalus; pathological expansion of the liquid-filled fluid spaces (brain ventricles) of the brain).
- Intracerebral calcifications – calcifications in the brain.
- Epilepsy
- Cerebral atrophy – decrease in the mass of the cerebrum.
- Microcephaly – abnormal smallness of the head due to a developmental disorder of the brain.
- Strabismus (strabismus)
- Mental retardation
- Optic atrophy – reduction of vision due to degeneration of the optic nerve.
- Iritis – inflammation of the iris in the eye.
- Cataract – clouding of the lens of the eye.
- Premature birth
- Pneumonia (pneumonia)
- Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle)
- Nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys)
- Hepatitis (liver inflammation)
- Gastroenteritis (gastrointestinal flu)
If the mother becomes infected near the end of pregnancy, the child is usually born asymptomatic, but later develops symptoms of Toxoplasma infection.Congenital toxoplasmosis leads to the classic triad:
- Hydrocephalus
- Chorioretinitis
- Intracerebral calcifications
At the time of birth, an intrauterine infected fetus shows:
- 1-2% of cases the classic triad(see above).
- 70-85% a subclinical infection
- 90% of infected newborns are initially clinically inconspicuous
