Toxoplasmosis in pregnancy

Toxoplasmosis in pregnancy refers to infection with *Toxoplasma gondii* occurring during gestation, with attention to the possibility of transplacental spread to the unborn child ^[1][2]. The record identifies this as a parasitic condition and links the pregnancy-specific importance of the disease to congenital toxoplasmosis rather than to maternal illness alone ^[1][2]. The available sources do not provide a more detailed disease definition or staging framework beyond this pregnancy-associated transmission concept ^[1][2].

The cited literature describes congenital toxoplasmosis as potentially severe despite being rare, with neurological or ocular disease, including blindness, and cardiac and cerebral anomalies ^[1]. Infants with congenital toxoplasmosis are reported to be mostly asymptomatic at birth, but long-term sequelae may later appear ^[2]. Reported sequelae include chorioretinitis with severe visual impairment, hearing loss, and mental retardation ^[2]. The sources also note that the risk of fetal infection increases during pregnancy, while the risk of severe disease decreases, indicating a changing clinical pattern across gestation ^[2].

Primary infection in pregnant women is reported worldwide, with frequencies between 0.1% and 1% in the cited review ^[2]. In approximately 40% of maternal infections, the unborn child is infected ^[2]. The available sources also note low prevalence in the Canadian population, which was cited as one reason routine screening is not currently recommended there ^[1]. The record further states that each country should provide incidence data on toxoplasma infection in pregnancy to judge whether it is a public-health problem and what measures should be adopted ^[2].

The principal route of concern in pregnancy is vertical transmission from an infected pregnant woman to the fetus ^[1][2]. The sources do not provide further detail on specific environmental, dietary, or household exposure routes within this evidence set ^[1][2]. Because the surveillance concept is framed around maternal infection and fetal infection, transmission should be interpreted primarily as transplacental spread in the pregnancy context ^[1][2].

The source-backed risk group is pregnant women infected with *Toxoplasma gondii* and, by extension, their fetuses ^[1][2]. The available evidence does not further define demographic, occupational, dietary, or geographic high-risk subgroups beyond the pregnancy context and the worldwide occurrence of primary infection ^[2].

Prenatal care should include education about prevention of toxoplasmosis, according to the cited guidance ^[1]. The reviewed literature also indicates that early recognition of maternal infection and treatment can reduce placental parasitic colonization and prevent fetal infection, while treatment after fetal infection has occurred may modify fetal disease ^[2]. Routine universal screening is not currently recommended in the Canadian guidance cited here, because of low prevalence and diagnostic and therapeutic limitations ^[1]. The sources do not supply a preventive schedule or a comprehensive exposure-control package beyond education, surveillance, and pregnancy-focused management ^[1][2].

For monitoring purposes, this entity should be read as a pregnancy-associated congenital infection risk rather than as isolated maternal disease ^[1][2]. The cited literature supports country-level assessment of incidence in pregnant women as a basis for deciding whether serological surveillance or other measures are warranted ^[2]. It also cautions that low prevalence and limitations in diagnosis and therapy can reduce the effectiveness of screening strategies, so the surveillance context should distinguish between universal screening policy and targeted public-health assessment ^[1].

1. 1 Paquet C et al. Toxoplasmosis in pregnancy: prevention, screening, and treatment. J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2013 Jan. PMID: 23343802. doi: 10.1016/s1701-2163(15)31053-7. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23343802/
2. 2 Stray-Pedersen B et al. Toxoplasmosis in pregnancy. Baillieres Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 1993 Mar. PMID: 8513640. doi: 10.1016/s0950-3552(05)80149-x. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8513640/
3. 3 Toxoplasmosis. PubMed indexed record. 1994. PMID: 35952265. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35952265/
4. 4 Toxoplasmosis in pregnancy. The Lancet. 1994. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(94)92298-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(94)92298-5
5. 5 Toxoplasmosis in Pregnancy. Infections and Pregnancy. 2022. doi: 10.1007/978-981-16-7865-3_14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7865-3_14
6. 6 Toxoplasmosis in Pregnancy. OSCEs in Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine. 2023. doi: 10.1017/9781108975780.078. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108975780.078

ICD-10

B58

ICD-11

Total cases

87K

Peak month

2024-08

Coverage

1 reporting countries · 2019-01-01 → 2026-02-01