Oocyst-Transmitted Toxoplasmosis Associated with Ingestion of Contaminated Water

Abstract

HUMAN infection with Toxoplasma gondii may result from the ingestion of either the tissue cyst, which is found in certain meats, or the oocyst, which is shed in the feces of cats.^{1 2 3 4 5} Although epidemic toxoplasmosis is uncommon, a large outbreak of acute toxoplasmosis has occurred in a battalion of U.S. Army soldiers trained in the Panama Canal area. Between January 27 and February 18, 1979, 600 soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 508th Infantry attended a three-week training course in the jungle in Panama. During the two weeks after their return to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 39 of the . . .