Can Children Be Born With Parasites?

It is quite common for a pregnant women infected with parasites to pass them on to the unborn child. The protozoan Toxoplasma gondii is a common parasite passed from mother to child in the womb.

Toxoplasmosis Infection in People

• According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), up to 60 million people in the United States suffer from Toxoplasmosis, and most don't know it. Cats are the primary host of Toxoplasmosis gondi and since humans and cats live within close contact of one another, the rate of infection is high in humans.

Definition

• Toxoplasmosis, according to MedicineNet.com, is an infection caused by a single-celled parasite that invades tissues and can damage the brain, especially of the fetus and newborn. Toxoplasmosis can be contracted by hands to the mouth after gardening, cleaning a cat's litter box, or anything other contact with cat feces. Also, eating raw or partly cooked meat, especially pork or lamb, or having hand to the mouth contact after handling raw or undercooked meat can lead to toxoplasmosis.

Pregnant Women

• Infected pregnant women can pass the disease to their unborn child. Children born to a mother with Toxoplasmosis are more likely to have learning difficulties, chronic eye infections, behavioral problems and even schizophrenia.

Symptoms of Intestinal Toxoplasmosis

• People with Toxoplasmosis often have no symptoms, which means many cases are not diagnosed. If symptoms do appear they are often similar to the flu including fatigue, muscle aches and pains, sore throat, nausea, diarrhea and fever.

Toxoplasmosis Cysts (Brain infection)

• In cases of Toxoplasmosis cysts, symptoms may include eye disease (chorioretinitis); inflammation of the brain (encephalitis); delusions; hallucinations; paranoia; altered mental state; personality changes; behavioral problems; and schizophrenia.

Treatment

• For most people the infection clears up by itself because the parasite can not reproduce in humans. When people are infected, the symptoms usually only last a couple of weeks before the parasites are killed off or trapped by the immune system. People with compromised immune systems, or children with congenital toxoplasmosis, may need hospitalization. In children with congenital toxoplasmosis, treatment lasts at least a year, and includes the drugs pyrimethamine, sulfadiazine and leucovorin. Doctors may prescribe steroids for infants with vision or spinal problems.