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<td class="" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" colspan="2"><img height="190" alt="" width="190" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Toxoplasma_gondii_tachy.jpg/190px-Toxoplasma_gondii_tachy.jpg" width="190" /><br />
<span><em>T. gondii</em> tachyzoites</span></td>
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<p>Up to one third of the world's human population is estimated to carry a <em>Toxoplasma</em> infection.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Montoya_2004_2-0"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></sup> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that overall seroprevalence in the United States as determined with specimens collected by the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1999 and 2004 was found to be 10.8%, with seroprevalence among women of childbearing age (15 to 44 years) of 11%.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Jones_2007_3-0"><span>[</span>4<span>]</span></sup></p>
<p>During the first few weeks, the infection typically causes a mild flu-like illness or no illness. After the first few weeks of infection have passed, the parasite rarely causes any symptoms in otherwise healthy adults. However, people with a weakened immune system, such as those infected with advanced HIV disease or those who are pregnant, may become seriously ill, and it can occasionally be fatal. The parasite can cause encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and neurologic diseases and can affect the heart, liver, and eyes (<font color="#810081">chorioretinitis</font>).</p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Symptoms">Symptoms</span></h2>
<p>Infection has two stages:</p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Transmission">Transmission</span></h2>
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<div class="thumbinner" style="WIDTH: 212px"><img class="thumbimage" height="275" alt="" width="210" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Toxoplasma_gondii_Life_cycle_PHIL_3421_lores.jpg/210px-Toxoplasma_gondii_Life_cycle_PHIL_3421_lores.jpg" width="210" />
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<div class="magnify"><img height="11" alt="" width="15" src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15" /></div>
Life cycle of <em>Toxoplasma gondii</em>.</div>
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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span></h2>
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<li>Parts of this article are taken from the public domain <a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/" rel="nofollow">CDC factsheet: Toxoplasmosis</a> </li> <li><em><a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec14/ch186/ch186h.html" rel="nofollow">Toxoplasmosis</a></em> at <a title="Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merck_Manual_of_Diagnosis_and_Therapy">Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy</a> Professional Edition </li> <li>Health Protection Agency (HPA), UK: <a class="external text" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1195733799638" rel="nofollow">Toxoplasmosis</a>. </li>
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