Fetal toxoplasmosis may be treated by giving the mother pyrimethamine and sulfonamides such as sulfadiazine during the later second and third trimesters.
Prenatal tests for toxoplasmosis include a blood test for maternal antibodies; testing of the amniotic fluid and fetal blood; and, fetal ultrasound.
Newborns with symptoms of toxoplasmosis are treated with pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine for one year.
Maternal toxoplasmosis is treated with spiramycin during the first and early second trimesters of pregnancy.
Toxoplasmosis can cause severe illness or death shortly after birth.
Newborns with symptoms of toxoplasmosis are treated with leucovorin for one year to protect the bone marrow from pyrimethamine toxicity.
Newborns with symptoms of toxoplasmosis are treated with corticosteroids for heart, lung, or eye inflammations.
AIDS patients who have not been infected may be given a drug called TMP/SMX (Bactrim or Septra) to prevent toxoplasmosis infection.
One-third of women who are infected for the first time during pregnancy, the parasite infects the placenta and enters the fetal circulation.
The fetal infection rate is above 60% if maternal infection occurs during the third trimester, but the most severe fetal complications occur with first-trimester infection.
The disease can be fatal to all immunocompromised patients, especially AIDS patients, and particularly if not treated. As a result, immunocompromised patients are typically placed on anti-toxoplasmosis drugs for the rest of their lives.
Open fetal surgery is used for conditions that cannot be treated endoscopically.
Most individuals who contract toxoplasmosis do not require treatment because their immune systems are able to control the disease. Symptoms are not usually present. Mild symptoms may be relieved by taking over-the-counter medications