Health A-Z

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Harvard Medical School

Toxoplasmosis

Prognosis

People with AIDS who have recovered from acute toxoplasmosis are at high risk of future episodes, because the dormant parasite may be reactivated. To prevent this, an AIDS patient must begin a regimen of preventive drugs and continue to take the medications as long as his or her immune system remains weakened. One popular prophylactic drug combination — trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole — also helps to prevent Pneumocystis jiroveci (formerly called Pneumocystis carinii) pneumonia, an infection that targets AIDS patients with weakened immune systems. This drug combination may be responsible for the decrease in toxoplasmosis of the brain seen in AIDS patients. Many congenital toxoplasmosis cases can be cured with medications. Even children who had severe infections at birth may never show signs of severe long-term damage if they are diagnosed and treated early. Delays in diagnosis and treatment can contribute to a poor prognosis.

If a pregnant woman develops toxoplasmosis, her child's risk of congenital toxoplasmosis decreases 60% if she is treated properly with medication.