title: Congenital toxoplasmosis and reinfection during pregnancy: case report, strain characterization, experimental model of reinfection, and review.
abstract: We present a case of disseminated congenital toxoplasmosis in a newborn born to a mother who had been immunized against toxoplasmosis before conception. The mother was reinfected, likely by ingestion of imported raw horse meat during pregnancy. This clinical presentation is exceptional in France and raised the possibility of infection by a highly virulent Toxoplasma strain. The strain responsible was isolated from the peripheral blood of the newborn, and when genotyped with microsatellite markers, it exhibited an atypical genotype, one which is very uncommon in Europe but had been described in South America. We tested the hypothesis of a reinfection with a different genotype by using an experimental mouse model, which confirmed that acquired immunity against European Toxoplasma strains may not protect against reinfection by atypical strains acquired during travel outside Europe or by eating imported meat.
authors.affiliation: Service de Néonatologie, Hôpital Intercommunal de Créteil, Créteil, France.
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elbez-Rubinstein
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ajzenberg
authors.forename: Marie-Laure
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Dardé
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Aurélien
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dumètre
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yera
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gondon
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Janaud
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thulliez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D051379:Mice; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012008:Recurrence; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000517:prevention & control; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D014125:Toxoplasmosis, Congenital / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan