Purpose of Review
Review building of programs to eliminate Toxoplasma infections.
Recent Findings
Morbidity and mortality from toxoplasmosis led to programs in USA, Panama, and Colombia to facilitate understanding, treatment, prevention, and regional resources, incorporating student work.
Summary
Studies foundational for building recent, regional approaches/programs are reviewed. Introduction provides an overview/review of programs in Panamá, the United States, and other countries. High prevalence/risk of exposure led to laws mandating testing in gestation, reporting, and development of broad-based teaching materials about Toxoplasma. These were tested for efficacy as learning tools for high-school students, pregnant women, medical students, physicians, scientists, public health officials and general public. Digitized, free, smart phone application effectively taught pregnant women about toxoplasmosis prevention. Perinatal infection care programs, identifying true regional risk factors, and point-of-care gestational screening facilitate prevention and care. When implemented fully across all demographics, such programs present opportunities to save lives, sight, and cognition with considerable spillover benefits for individuals and societies.
Purpose of Review
Review international efforts to build a global public health initiative focused on toxoplasmosis with spillover benefits to save lives, sight, cognition and motor function benefiting maternal and child health.
Recent Findings
Multiple countries’ efforts to eliminate toxoplasmosis demonstrate progress and context for this review and new work.
Summary
Problems with potential solutions proposed include accessibility of accurate, inexpensive diagnostic testing, pre-natal screening and facilitating tools, missed and delayed neonatal diagnosis, restricted access, high costs, delays in obtaining medicines emergently, delayed insurance pre-approvals and high medicare copays taking considerable physician time and effort, harmful shortcuts being taken in methods to prepare medicines in settings where access is restricted, reluctance to perform ventriculoperitoneal shunts promptly when needed without recognition of potential benefit, access to resources for care, especially for marginalized populations, and limited use of recent advances in management of neurologic and retinal disease which can lead to good outcomes.
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