Alexander J. Sulzer

Oocyst-transmitted toxoplasmosis associated with ingestion of contaminated water.

HUMAN infection with Toxoplasma gondii may result from the ingestion of either the tissue cyst, which is found in certain meats, or the oocyst, which is shed in the feces of cats.1 2 3 4 5 Although...

Epidemic Toxoplasmosis Associated with Infected Cats

In October, 1977, an outbreak of toxoplasmosis occurred in patrons of a riding stable in Atlanta, Georgia; 37 became ill with toxoplasmosis or had serologic evidence by indirect fluorescent-antibody test of acute infection with Toxoplasma gondii (titer greater than or equal to 1:4096 or a positive fluorescent-antibody test for toxoplasma antibodies). Forty-nine additional patrons did not become ill. Two of the three adult cats from the stable were seropositive for toxoplasma, which was also recovered from the tissues of two kittens and four mice trapped near the stable. Patrons who spent most of their time at the end of the stable where a cat had defecated had the highest incidence of infection. Patrons who attended the stable daily had a higher attack rate than those who attended less frequently. No common meals were consumed, and dietary histroy eliminated meat as the source of infection. The data suggest that toxoplasma oocysts were the source of the infection.

Human babesiosis on Nantucket Island. Evidence for self-limited and subclinical infections.

Between 1969 and 1975, seven patients infected with Babesia microti, a tick-borne intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite, were reported from Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.1 2 3 Although all seven p...

Babesia argentina, plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum: Antigenic cross-reactions☆

Abstract An indirect fluorescent antibody test was used to analyze the antigenic relationships between Babesia argentina , a parasite of cattle, and two human malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax . Elevated antibody titers to P. falciparum were found in cattle infected with B. argentina . Some persons infected with P. falciparum or P. vivax were found to produce antibodies to B. argentina . Explanations for the occurrence of these cross reactions are considered.

Malaria and pregnancy in Cameroonian women. Naturally acquired antibody responses to asexual blood-stage antigens and the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum

Antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum antigens in women during pregnancy were investigated in Mfou, a rural community in Cameroon. The study consisted of cross-sectional analyses involving 225 pregnant women and 75 non-pregnant controls. Blood samples were collected from each woman to determine serological reactivity to intraerythrocytic malarial antigens, ring-infected erythrocyte surface antigen (RESA) and circumsporozoite (CS) repeat peptide (NANP)5 by the indirect fluorescent antibody assay, modified immunofluorescent antibody assay, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Reactivity to intraerythrocytic asexual blood-stage antigens and to the CS repeat region was similar in both pregnant and non-pregnant women, and no correlation with parasitaemia was found. In contrast, anti-RESA antibody levels were significantly lower in pregnant than in non-pregnant women (P = 0.02) and in primigravidae than in multigravidae (P = 0.002), and were inversely correlated with parasitaemia (r = -0.36; P < 0.01). These data suggest that the increased susceptibility to malarial infection in pregnant women may be explained in part by their lower reactivity to RESA.

Toxoplasma gondii: Polar staining in fluorescent antibody test

Abstract A serum factor specific for the anterior pole of Toxoplasma gondii has been found in normal human sera. There seems not to have been any prior report of this as a tritable human serum factor. The factor is heat stable. It appears to be present in nearly all sera of humans above the age of 2 years. It apparently does not occur in the sera of infants less than 6 months of age. The factor has been designated as the Toxoplasma anterior polar (TAP) factor.

RACCOON BABESIOSIS IN CONNECTICUT, USA: BABESIA LOTORI SP. N.

A species of Babesia which infects raccoons, Procyon lotor, is described and named Babesia lotori. Twelve of 14 raccoons captured from five counties in Connecticut developed parasitemia after splenectomy. Preoperative levels were subpatent or less than 1%. Parasitemia peaked anywhere from less than 5% to 36.6% in splenectomized raccoons, and all but one survived and possessed low infection rates (less than or equal to 3%) at the end of the experiment. An indirect fluorescent antibody test is described and shown to be useful in detecting antibodies to B. lotori. Seropositive raccoons were obtained from six counties. Two, Babesia-free, splenectomized raccoons developed parasitemia with corresponding increases in antibody titers after they were inoculated with infected blood. Antibody titers of naturally infected raccoons following splenectomy either remained stable or increased fourfold. Babesia was observed in three of four young raccoons which had been naturally confined to chimneys. Two of these four young raccoons were infested with a nest-dwelling tick, Ixodes texanus.

Toxoplasma gondii Isolated from Amniotic Fluid

&NA; A pregnant woman contracted toxoplasmosis from exposure to oocysts shed by cats. She underwent amniocentesis for a therapeutic abortion, and Toxoplasma gondii was isolated from the amniotic fluid and placenta. This method may be useful in determining whether the fetus is infected in cases of toxoplasmosis acquired during pregnancy.

Study of coinciding foci of malaria and leptospirosis in the Peruvian Amazon area

A hyperendemic malaria focus, found in 1973 in a secluded valley in South-eastern Peru, was restudied in 1975. Tests for antibodies to Plasmodium and Leptospira were performed on blood serum and blood slides collected at three locations on the Rio Ene and confluent streams and at two locations in the neighbouring highlands. The hyperendemic focus of P. vivax-P. malariae found at Mission Cutivirini in 1973 was confirmed in this study. Another hyperendemic focus of predominantly P. vivax was found at the village of Saoreni. Lesser amounts of malaria were found at other locations. Serology indicated past or present contact with Leptospira of from 50 to 75% of individuals at all locations. The two hyperendemic malaria foci therefore were embedded in a much larger hyperendemic focus of leptospirosis. The value of the indirect immunofluorescence test for malarial antibodies as a sero-epidemiological tool was emphasized by this study.

Serum immunoglobulin levels and malaria antibodies in Burkitt's lymphoma

Data are presented to support a relationship between malaria infection and Burkitts lymphoma in African children. IgG, IgM and IgA levels were measured in sera from Burkitts lymphoma patients and from sex- and age-matched, nearest-neighbour controls. All three classes of immunoglobulins were present in significantly lower amounts in the sera from Burkitts lymphoma patients than in the sera from controls. The mechanism of this apparent B-cell suppression is not yet clear. Malaria-specific IgG and IgM antibody titres were determined in the indirect immunofluorescence test. No significant difference in the IgG malaria-specific antibodies was detected between the two groups of sera. Malaria antibody levels measured using IgM specific conjugates were significantly lower in the sera from Burkitts lymphoma patients in reactions with Plasmodium falciparum antigen. No significant difference was observed when P. malariae was used. Confirmation of this finding would serve as a positive link between Burkitts lymphoma and P. falciparum infection.