A follow-up study of Toxoplasma gondii infection in southern Brazil

Abstract

Purpose: To understand better the natural history of ocular toxoplasmosis by reexamining a well-characterized population in Southern Brazil.

Methods: Ophthalmological examination and serologic tests for Toxoplasma gondii infection were performed in 1997 on 383 individuals who had undergone the same evaluation in 1990.

Results: Of 109 seronegative subjects in 1990, 21 (19.3%) became seropositive by 1997, and 2 (1.5% of previously seronegative patients; 9.5% of those known to have seroconverted) developed ocular toxoplasmosis. Seroconversion occurred more frequently in individuals under 17 years of age (16 of 46 patients, 34.8%) than in those greater than 17 years of age (5 of 63 patients, 7.9%; p = 0.002). Of 131 seropositive individuals who did not have ocular lesions in 1990, 11 (8.3%) had typical toxoplasmic lesions in 1997. Of the 13 individuals with non-specific hyperpigmented small retinal lesions in 1990, 3 (23%) presented with typical lesions in 1997.

Conclusions: Acquired T. gondii infection can result in late development of ocular lesions. Small, non-specific hyperpigmented retinal lesions may represent sites of T. gondii infection in seropositive individuals.