Toxoplasma gondii Anyone ?

[kindandcaring]

Not sure if this has been bought up...approx 30-60% of the world populaton has this..usually latent after initial flu like symptoms.

Ive just found out that if the immune system is compromised..ie autoimmune disease..then there is a much greater chance of this virus reactivating..it can be a very nasty thing to come alive again.

This would be especially even more at risk for us that use immunosuppressant meds...Rituxan etc etc

I therefore think it would be a good idea to get tested to see if you have the pathogen...that sets a benchmark and lets you and your med carers know your status.


All my best

[cport]

THIS IS WHAT CAUSES TOXOPLASMOSIS THAT PREGNANT WOMEN AND IMMUNOCOMPRAMISED PEOPLE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL OF. WE HAVE TO TAKE THE SAME PRECAUTIONS AS PREGNANT WOMEN DO TO TRY AND AVOID THIS SO MEANS BEING CAREFUL WITH CAT POO ETC.

IT'S SCARY HOW CAREFUL WE HAVE TO BE AND ALL THESE THINGS THAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ARE REALLY WORRYING XX

[Linda196]

There are so many "latent viruses" in the world today, that testing for all of them would be prohibitively expensive, things like Toxoplasma, Parvo, Gammaherpesvirinae, human papiloma, and the list goes on, that are present in many healthy people, activating only to a trigger, or maybe never activating. The same applies to bacteria, there are so many of those that are universally present and never cause any illness, unless there is an immune system failure or a mutating trigger for the bacteria.

It's been my experience, both with hospitalized patients and in the community, that when people present with vague "infectious" symptoms (flu like diseases) the usual course of investigation includes queries into immune status, and any known compromise (disease or treatment) automatically puts up red flags for the "usually docile" bacterial or viral agents. Unfortunately from what I read here, my experiences with the medical community are somewhat better than a lot of people's.

It's always wise to carry or wear a medic alert type warning that indicates the presence of immune system disease or immunocompromising drugs, and emphasize that when seeking treatment for any problem.

I think my point is, if you have the latent virus or bacteria, the usual treatments (which are quite rigorous, with notable side effects) probably won't eradicate it from the latent state, so if you have it, you'll keep it. It becomes a case of "be prepared", rather than "get cured".

[Kewanee]

Oh me. Confused. Our systems are compromised? Or is is that it's overactive and attacking us. So is it the medications to calm down the inflammation that compromise us or this disease?

[Linda196]

In this case, compromised doesn't mean underactive, it means not working right...either over or underactive, there's something compromising the proper function. In the case of overactivity, the immune system may be focusing all available resources on the body's natural tissue in error, and not have any resource to focus on an actual viral or bacterial invasion.

[irish]

As a person with low t-cells (mine were 320 last year and normal is 1064-1600+) I can tell you that when I get something that is going to make me sick my body generally tells me. In fact, if you have immune disease as I do you get sick faster than normal.. I don't run an elevated temp over 100.2 and that is very, very , very seldom. My immunologist feels that I have a hereditary type dysgammaglobulinemia(that is what it is called) which has caused me to get all my autoimmune diseases. In other words, my immune system is just plain screwed up.

As for the toxoplasmosis, this is really a common disease that most people probably have heard of at some time. It is also known as "cat scratch fever" and magazines have a lot of articles about it plus your OBGYN usually tells you to stay away from cats and have your hubby change the litter box.

I had a disease called Mycobacterium kansasii which is a type of TB that is not contagious. I had it in my lungs, liver and spleen. I was sick---believe me and had to take 3 different kinds of antibiotics, a total of 8 pills a day for one year. This is a bug that is in the air and soil all the time and people usually don't get it unless they have a compromised immune system.

Life Linda says, it is really impossible to test for all the bacteria and diseases that are out there. With my immune problem I get infections from overgrowth of the common bacteria found in the mouth. I am a hazard to myself---literally. Plus, I have the MRSA all the time along with another tough one called Klebsiella.

If you find that you are having a lot of infections in a short period of time it would be prudent to ask your doc to check your immune system for problems fighting off diseases. If he gives you trouble tell him that you want a referral to an Infectious disease doc who will be more apt to deal with these issues. The only thing we can all do is to stay away from the big crowds and sick kids. Also, when the flu outbreaks are prevalent it might be wise to wear a mask when you are around a lot of people. We just had our first bouts of the swine flu in my state and it is spreading. If it is bad by winter I will be home a lot and wearing a mask in public.

Also, if you get your infections really close together you may want to ask your doc about reculturing or giving a different antibiotic and giving for a longer period of time than 10 days. Many times 21 days works better. Good luck all. Irish

[kindandcaring]

Its hard for us to get our head around all the consequences of having Autoimmune disease/s

Other Latent Viruses that remain in us that can reactivate include:
Herpes, ..Shingles also come to mind as well as Epstein Barr Virus..

I think the point that Linda made regarding carrying some kind of Alert 'Immune Status' tag is a good idea.
Linda also mentions Diagnostic abilities from Doctor to Doctor do seem to vary as many posts indicate...some are better than others...and you dont know where and when you are gonna get sick..so with something like a Medical Alert Tag..would give the medical staff a head start in knowing what to check for.

When I first asked my Doc about Toxoplasmosis..he said it would not reactivate.. now the truth is any of the latent viruses pathogens can in us, we and the Medical Carers need to understand that fact in case we present with new symptoms.

I must apologise as I had assumed that most everyone else would have been tested these days routinely for EBV, Toxoplasma gondii, HIV .Herpes, Hepatitis Virsues etc etc...this testing is one thing we do not have to pay for in Australia..maybe thats why I have been.

[Kewanee]

Well I don't recall being tested for most of those things. Interesting about the cat-scratch fever as I've had that. Terrible infection throughout my body that was treated with sulfa and I'm allergic to it!
I tried to rescue a little kitten. It was hurricane type storms all night and all night it cried. In the morning I went out and found it in a tree hollow. When I picked it up it bit hard. I never would have thought a tiny kitten could do that!

The gammaglobulin comment was interesting. About the time I was diagnosed I had hypogammaglobulinemia.  Guess my body had been in a fight for to long.

Boy Irish, I just cannot imagine how you have suffered with all these things. You must feel like a walking target. I can certainly understand staying away from groups or crowds.
These new virus's worry me. Wow, to bad we cannot swallow something that would kill all the bad things. I just learned that Oregano Oil kills SARS. It was on tv. Wish I could give you something to help.

~Kewanee


Isa.33:24