Foodborne outbreaks of human toxoplasmosis

Abstract

Two outbreaks of acute toxoplasmosis involving 8 adult patients in Korea were linked to eating uncooked pork. In the first outbreak, 3 patients developed unilateral chorioretinitis within 3 months of eating a meal consisting of raw spleen and liver of a wild pig. In the second outbreak, 5 of 11 soldiers who ate a meal consisting of a liver of domestic pig developed lymphadenopathy. All 8 patients had high levels of IgG Toxoplasma gondii antibodies (>1:1024) in the Sabin-Feldman dye test, modified agglutination test. T.gondii IgM antibodies persisted in these patients for several months. Most patients had a favorable response to anti-T. gondii chemotherapy with pyrimethamine and sulfanomides.