Background

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan that causes the parasitic disease Toxoplasmosis. T. gondii was initially discovered by Nicolle and Manceaux in 1908 in North Aftrica. There are three main modes of T. gondii transmission. T. gondii can be aquired by eating undercooked meat, exposure to cat feces, and from pregnant mother to an unborn child. It is believed that up to 33% of the worlds population carries Toxoplasma. In the United States the CDC reported 10.8% Americans exhibited exposure to Toxoplasma with 11% of women of childbearing age (15 to 44 years of age) exhibiting exposure. Toxoplasma infection usually is asymptomatic or causes mild flu related symptoms. In the worst cases, usually in those who are immunocompromised, Toxoplasma may cause encephalitis, damage to the retina, or damage in a wide range of organs. Infection by T. gondii has been linked to schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders.

Detection

There are three main detection strategies to detect the presence of T. gondii in patient samples: serologic, microscopic, or molecular. Microscopic methods typically rely on direct biopsy of Toxoplasma cysts or lesions, however detection of blood-borne tachyzoites are possible in cases of high parasitemia. Serology based assays are aimed at the detection of hosts development of specific anti-Toxoplasma antibodies (IgG or IgM). T. gondii molecular based diagnostic assays detect specific DNA sequences. Fry Laboratories takes molecular based assays a step further with sequencing. With sequence information the result is unambiguously confirmed and often strain and/or genotype information can be learned about the detected organism. The combination of these three strategies combinatorially address many of the weaknesses of any one testing strategy and together result in a comprehensive T. gondii detection solution.