Toxoplasmosis - Term Paper Example

It was found in a survey that approximately 1% of household cats had the organism present (Robbins et al 2005 & Levinson 2008). The infection spreads by means of intake of the cysts of the organism by human beings either through intake of meat that has not been cooked properly or via any other eatables that have been infected. Contact with the fecal matter of the cats which also contain the infected cysts can also result in infection. The other mode of transmission is via the placenta to the fetus during pregnancy or during invasive procedures which include transplantation of organs or during blood transfusions (Rao 2004, Brooks et al 2004 & Levinson 2008).

In the human beings the infected cysts reach the small bowel and split over there. This leads to liberation of products which enter the gut wall where the macrophages become activated and engulf these foreign bodies. They multiply within the cells and form trophozoites which destroy the cells within which they are engulfed and then move towards acting on other cells. If the immune system is intact the cell mediated immunity restricts the trophozoites and the proztozoa then gains entry in the cells of the brain, muscle and other tissues and forming cysts which do not multiply at a very fast rate.

This form of cysts within which the protozoa is replicating at a very slow pace is referred to as bradyzoite. There is danger of these cysts getting ruptured in people whose immunity is not intact and is compromised. These cysts also serve as diagnostic tools for concluding the presence of the organism in the body (Levinson 2008 & Brooks et al 2004). Toxoplasmosis does not present any severe manifestations or symptoms in people who have an intact immune system. It does not also spread from one person to another apart from the transmission via the placenta.

The dissemination of the protozoa from the small bowel can be to other organs