What symptoms does toxoplasmosis cause in the baby?
Most newborns with toxoplasmosis show no obvious symptoms. However, about 1 in 10 infected babies has a severe infection evident at birth (3). These newborns often have eye infections, an enlarged liver and spleen, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) and pneumonia. Some die within a few days of birth. Those who survive sometimes develop mental retardation, impaired eyesight, cerebral palsy, seizures, hearing loss and other problems. Without treatment, up to 85 percent of infected babies who appear normal at birth develop problems months to years later (2, 3). These include eye infections that may affect sight, learning disabilities and hearing loss. Toxoplasmosis during pregnancy also can cause preterm delivery or stillbirth (3). How common is toxoplasmosis? Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common infections in the world. More than 60 million people in the United States may be infected (4). However, most have no symptoms, so they may not know they are infected. A small number of
