ABSTRACT
This chapter provides state-of-the-art overviews on foodborne diseases caused by Toxoplasma gondii in relation to their etiology, biology, epidemiology, clinical presentation, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. With more than 200 diseases known to be transmitted through food and drink, establishing the association of illnesses with a specific pathogen or food source is complex and difficult, and finding effective means to control and prevent such illnesses is even more challenging. Among pathogenic organisms that contaminate foods and drinks, Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan first discovered in 1908, independently, by Splendore and Nicolle and Manceaux. There are three main routes of transmission: congenital infection, ingestion of food infected with tissue cysts or oocysts, and drink contaminated with oocysts. T. gondii is a unicellular organism of the Eukarya domain, Alveolata kingdom, Apicomplexan phylum, Coccidia class, Eucoccidiorida order, Sarcocystidae family, Toxoplasma genus, and Toxoplasma gondii species. T. gondii has two organelles with endosymbiotic origin: mitochondrion and apicoplast.
