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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.

Cats with suspected clinical toxoplasmosis should be

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.

given supportive care, as required. Clindamycin

 

hydrochloride, administered at 12 mg/kg orally every 12

 

hours for four weeks, or a trimethoprim-sulphonamide

If trimethoprim-sulphonamide combinations

combination, administered at 15 mg/kg orally every 12

hours for four weeks, have been used most frequently by

Administration of clindamycin for up to six weeks

has been shown to be safe in research cats. In one study

occur in some cats on clindamycin therapy. These side

effects usually develop acutely; if the drug is stopped for

one to two days and then reinstituted, it is usually tolerated.

the treatment of CNS toxoplasmosis in cats (Dubey and

Lappin 1998). Some cats with CNS toxoplasmosis

Cats that cannot tolerate clindamycin can be adminis-tered trimethoprim-sulphonamide combinations. Owing

clindamycin. If trimethoprim-sulphonamide combinations

are used, a complete blood cell count should be

are used, a complete blood cell count should be

performed every two weeks to monitor for the development

performed every two weeks to monitor for the development