Symptoms of toxoplasmosis

Acquired toxoplasmosis

The incubation period of toxoplasmosis lasts from 3 to 21 days, but may last up to several months. The duration of the incubation period depends on the virulence of toxoplasm, the massiveness of infection and the premorbid background.

Toxoplasmosis usually begins acutely, with an increase in body temperature to 38-39 ° C. Sometimes there are prodromal phenomena in the form of malaise, weakness, minor headache. With acute development of the disease, children complain of general weakness, severe headache, sometimes cognition, muscle and joint pain, refuse to eat, lose weight. Some children develop rashes on the skin, usually spotty-papular, they sometimes merge, forming spots with scalloped edges. The rash settles evenly throughout the body, but spares the scalp, palms and soles. Lymph nodes, mainly cervical, axillary and inguinal, rarely lymph nodes of the abdominal cavity and mediastinum are enlarged. Usually, lymph nodes of moderate density, mobile, sensitive to palpation. At the height of clinical manifestations, the liver and spleen are enlarged, palpitations, dyspnea, sometimes acute myocarditis with rhythm and conduction disturbances, and enlargement of the heart boundaries. These symptoms are often combined with CNS damage by type of encephalitis, encephalomyelitis or meningoencephalitis. There are sharp headaches, repeated vomiting, meningeal symptoms, convulsions, loss of consciousness, damage to the cranial nerves, cerebellar disorders, hemiparesis. Typical are mental disorders. The disease can end fatal.

Along with severe forms with acquired toxoplasmosis, light and inapparent (subclinical) forms are possible.

Acquired toxoplasmosis usually ends with complete clinical recovery, but sometimes the process takes a chronic course. In this case, symptoms of prolonged intoxication are revealed: general weakness, increased fatigue, adynamia, decreased appetite, sleep disturbance, weight loss, pain in the muscles, joints, palpitation, headache. Chronic toxoplasmosis is characterized by prolonged subfebrile condition, lymphadenopathy, mezadenitis, soreness in palpation of individual muscle groups with possible detection of densified areas, generalized arthralgia without visible joint changes, enlargement of the liver without a significant disruption of its functions, frequent damage to the biliary tract.

With chronic toxoplasmosis, the nervous system is often affected with the appearance of asthenic conditions, various phobias, and neurasthenic reactions. Sometimes there is a chronic sluggish toxoplasmosis encephalitis, manifested epileptiform syndrome with recurring clonic or clonic-tonic convulsions. When involved in the pathological process of the brain and its membranes, the chronic acquired toxoplasmosis is difficult. Prolonged perennial flow with periodic exacerbations leads to a decrease in intelligence, the formation of Jackson epilepsy, persistent mental disorders, severe diencephalic pathology.

The changes in the autonomic nervous system are very characteristic: acrocyanosis, marble pattern of skin, dryness and peeling of the skin, hyperhidrosis of the palms, trophic changes in the nails, sweating, dizziness, and tachycardia are also possible. In some patients, a clinical picture of chronic arachnoiditis with focal symptoms (decreased visual acuity and narrowing of the visual fields) is revealed. A frequent manifestation of chronic toxoplasmosis is eye damage (chorioretinitis, uveitis, progressive myopia). Chronic toxoplasmosis of the eye can lead to optic atrophy and complete loss of vision.

Congenital toxoplasmosis. Acute or chronic disease of the newborn, arising from infection of the fetus with toxoplasma during intrauterine development. With acute toxoplasmosis, the condition of the child from the first days of illness is severe. The symptoms of intoxication are expressed. Body temperature is often high, but can be subfebrile. On the skin is an abundant patchy-papular or hemorrhagic rash, there are fewer hemorrhages in the mucous membranes and sclera. Often noted jaundice, enlarged liver and spleen, lymph nodes of all groups, dyspeptic disorders, pneumonia, myocarditis are possible. In especially severe cases, the disease is accompanied by encephalitis or meningoencephalitis (vomiting, convulsions, tremor, tremors, paralysis, paresis, cranial nerve damage, etc.). In the cerebrospinal fluid, lymphocytic cytosis, xanthochromia, and increased total protein content are noted.