In Tunisia, seeking unified action to mitigate risk of toxoplasmosis

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a communicable disease that affects both humans and animals through different transmission pathways. It is caused by a coccidian parasite called Toxoplasma gondii that uses cats as primary host and warm-blooded animals as secondary host. Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common parasitic zoonotic diseases in the world.

It is also a public health threat, as a large number of people are exposed to risk of infection. People get infected by eating raw or undercooked infected meat, unwashed contaminated produce, or through direct contact with oocysts in cat litter. It can cause stillbirths, blindness, psychomotor retardation and intellectual disability in children.