Toxoplasma lymphadenopathy

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a common and widely distributed infection, especially in warm moist climates. This is shown by the high incidence of positive serological tests found in appropriate surveys. The purpose of this paper is to describe three cases of toxoplasma lymphadenopathy in order to draw attention to a condition which must be commoner in Malta than is generally supposed. Three young adults have been diagnosed as suffering from toxoplasma lymphadenopathy within the past year. The condition is not diagnosed as frequently as it ought to be. Though it is on the whole uncommon, it should become increasingly recognised in future, in this way helping to reduce the number of obscure cases of lymphadenopathy. It has been estimated that some 7% of cases of lymphadenopathy clinically diagnosed as glandular fever but giving a negative Paul-Bunnell test will be accounted for by toxoplasmosis.