Toxoplasmosis - Treating toxoplasmosis

Most cases of toxoplasmosis are mild and don't require treatment. Either no symptoms develop, or a full recovery is made without complications.

If you're diagnosed with toxoplasmosis, your GP will recommend the most appropriate treatment for you. This will depend on your health and symptoms.

If you have severe symptoms, you may be prescribed a combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine, or a medication called azithromycin, which is given on its own. Folinic acid supplements may also be recommended.

This treatment is usually given for 3-6 weeks. If further courses of treatment are required, there will be a rest period of two weeks in between.

If you have HIV or AIDS, you may need medication until anti-HIV therapy has restored your immune function.

Pregnant women

If you're pregnant and develop toxoplasmosis for the first time, you may be treated with an antibiotic called spiramycin.

Spiramycin may reduce the risk of your unborn baby becoming infected and limit the severity of congenital toxoplasmosis if your baby does become infected.

There's some evidence to suggest that the earlier treatment starts, the lower the risk of congenital toxoplasmosis. However, in most cases, whether or not your baby becomes infected will depend on when you were infected.

Overall, about 30-40% of mothers who have a toxoplasmosis infection during pregnancy give birth to a baby with congenital toxoplasmosis.

Antibiotic treatments aren't always effective at preventing the damage caused by congenital toxoplasmosis in the unborn baby. Sulfadiazine plus pyrimethamine is usually prescribed in cases where tests show the baby has become infected in the womb (congenital infection).

Other antibiotics are being investigated, but until more research has been carried out, sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine remain the most effective treatment for toxoplasmosis.

Congenital toxoplasmosis

If your baby is born with congenital toxoplasmosis, he or she will be examined to see whether the infection has caused any damage. Your baby will have the following tests:

• blood test – blood will be taken either from a vein in your baby's arm or by pricking the skin of their heel, and the sample will be tested for toxoplasmosis antibodies
• eye examination – an ophthalmologist (an eye specialist) will examine your baby's eyes to check for any lesions (wounds) at the back of the eye affecting the retina choroid
• an X-ray or scan – may be taken of your baby's head to check for any brain damage

Congenital toxoplasmosis is usually treated with antibiotics. These will probably be a combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine. These drugs have been shown to be effective for treating moderately and severely affected babies. One study found 72% of babies with moderate or severe congenital toxoplasmosis had normal intelligence and motor function by their early teenage years.

Treatment with these medications may continue for up to a year. Unfortunately, some babies with congenital toxoplasmosis develop long-term disabilities because it's not possible for antibiotics to undo the damage already sustained. It's also possible for eye infections to recur at a later stage of childhood.

Read more about the complications of congenital toxoplasmosis.