Toxoplasmosis—Eye Infections

Your eyes can get infections from bacteria, fungi, or viruses. Eye infections can occur in different parts of the eye and can affect just one eye or both. Two common eye infections are

• Conjunctivitis – also known as pinkeye. Conjunctivitis is often due to an infection. Children frequently get it, and it is very contagious.
• Stye – a bump on the eyelid that happens when bacteria from your skin get into the hair follicle of an eyelash.

Symptoms of eye infections may include redness, itching, swelling, discharge, pain, or problems with vision. Treatment depends on the cause of the infection and may include compresses, eye drops, creams, or antibiotics.

• Blepharitis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Corneal ulcers and infections (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Cytomegalovirus retinitis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Dacryoadenitis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Endophthalmitis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Eye burning – itching and discharge (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Eye redness (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Meibomianitis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Orbital cellulitis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Parinaud oculoglandular syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Periorbital cellulitis (Medical Encyclopedia)

Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. More than 60 million people in the U.S. have the parasite. Most of them don’t get sick. But the parasite causes serious problems for some people. These include people with weak immune systems and babies whose mothers become infected for the first time during pregnancy. Problems can include damage to the brain, eyes, and other organs.

You can get toxoplasmosis from

• Waste from an infected cat
• Eating contaminated meat that is raw or not well cooked
• Using utensils or cutting boards after they’ve had contact with contaminated raw meat
• Drinking infected water
• Receiving an infected organ transplant or blood transfusion

Most people with toxoplasmosis don’t need treatment. There are drugs to treat it for pregnant women and people with weak immune systems.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Congenital toxoplasmosis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Toxoplasma test (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Toxoplasmosis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Toxoplasmosis: An Important Message for Cat Owners (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) – PDF
• Toxoplasmosis: An Important Message for Women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) – PDF