Risk factors and mode of transmission of toxoplasmosis in Nigeria: a review

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a cosmopolitan infection caused by an obligate intracellular protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite was described as the most successful having full potentials to  be transmitted  through various routes from contamination of the environment and food substances to continuous spread as tissue cyst in meat, among its intermediate host, bypassing its sexual stage of life cycle in its definitive host. Relevant English databases were searched for the prevalence studies conducted in Nigeria. In this review, we identified the various ways through which the infection can be spread within human population as reported by various studies in Nigeria.

Keywords: cosmopolitan, environment, intracellular, protozoan, toxoplasmosis