Changes

The toxoplasmosis patient does not usually require hospitalisation, unless they are suffering severe disease or cannot maintain adqequate nutrition or hydration unaided. Patients showing neurological signs should also be confined and monitored.

The toxoplasmosis patient does not usually require hospitalisation, unless they are suffering severe disease or cannot maintain adqequate nutrition or hydration unaided. Patients showing neurological signs should also be confined and monitored.

Supportive care should be given to cats and dogs with clinical toxoplasmosis as required. The specific treatment for ''Toxoplasma gondii'' infection is clindamycin, at a dose of 12-25mg/kg per os every 12 hours. Treatment should generally be given for four weeks, but should continue for at least two weeks after clinical signs have disppeared. Side effects can include acute vomiting and diarrhoea, but stopping treatment for a day or so before reintroducing the drug usually resolves this. Alternatively, a trimethoprim-potentiated sulphonamide may be used at 15mg/kg orally, twice daily for 4 weeks. This is useful in animals where clindamycin is not tolerated or is ineffective in treating CNS toxoplasmosis. Trimethoprim-sulphonamides can cause depression, anaemia, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, so a complete blood cell cound should be performed every two weeks to monitor this. Macrolides such as spiramycin, azithromycin and clarithromycin may also be effective against toxoplamosis, but have not yet been evaluated in cats and dogs.

Supportive care should be given to cats and dogs with clinical toxoplasmosis as required. The specific treatment for ''Toxoplasma gondii'' infection is clindamycin, at a dose of 12-25mg/kg per os every 12 hours. Treatment should generally be given for four weeks, but should continue for at least two weeks after clinical signs have disppeared. Side effects can include acute vomiting and diarrhoea, but stopping treatment for a day or so before reintroducing the drug usually resolves this. Alternatively, a trimethoprim-potentiated sulphonamide may be used at 15mg/kg orally, twice daily for 4 weeks. This is useful in animals where clindamycin is not tolerated or is ineffective in treating CNS toxoplasmosis. Trimethoprim-sulphonamides can cause depression, anaemia, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, so a complete blood cell cound should be performed every two weeks to monitor this. Macrolides such as spiramycin, azithromycin and clarithromycin may also be effective against toxoplamosis, but have not yet been evaluated in cats and dogs. In toxoplasma-induced uveitis, intraocular inflammatory reactions can cause lens luxation and glaucoma, and so animals with uveitis should be prescribed topical glucocorticoids in addtion to clindamycin or potentiated sulphonamides. 1% prednisolone drops every 8 hours for two weeks are often used.

 

 

'''Prevention'''

'''Prevention'''

*Cat

*Cat