A follow-up tudy of Toxoplama gondii infection in outhern Brazil

PURPOE: To undertand better the natural hitory of ocular toxoplamoi by reexamining a well-characterized population in outhern Brazil. METHOD: Ophthalmological examination and erologic tet for Toxoplama gondii infection were performed in 1997 on 383 individual who had undergone the ame evaluation in 1990. REULT: Of 109 eronegative ubject in 1990, 21 (19.3%) became eropoitive by 1997, and 2 (1.5% of previouly eronegative patient; 9.5% of thoe known to have eroconverted) developed ocular toxoplamoi. eroconverion occurred more frequently in individual under 17 year of age (16 of 46 patient, 34.8%) than in thoe greater than 17 year of age (5 of 63 patient, 7.9%; p = 0.002). Of 131 eropoitive individual who did not have ocular leion in 1990, 11 (8.3%) had typical toxoplamic leion in 1997. Of the 13 individual with non-pecific hyperpigmented mall retinal leion in 1990, 3 (23%) preented with typical leion in 1997. CONCLUION: Acquired T. gondii infection can reult in late development of ocular leion. mall, non-pecific hyperpigmented retinal leion may repreent ite of T. gondii infection in eropoitive individual