CLINICAL FINDINGS
Clinical disease may be the result of primary infection following ingestion of T. gondii or recrudescence of latent disease following a period of immune compromise. A broad range of clinical signs has been reported from Australian mammals, consistent with the multiple body systems affected by this disease.
The course of the disease can range from per acute to chronic. Death without premonitory signs appears to be common in native mammals in managed care. Neurological signs predominate across most taxonomic groups and may include blindness, ataxia, circling, incoordination, nystagmus, head tilt, hindlimb paralysis, altered mentation and dysphagia (Obendorf and Munday 1983; Canfield et al. 1990; Obendorf and Munday 1990; Donahoe et al. 2015). Ocular lesions include keratitis, uveitis, chorioretinitis, endophthalmitis and the development of unilateral or bilateral cataracts in some individuals. Other more generalised signs include dyspnoea, tachypnoea, coughing, depression, anorexia, lymphadenopathy, polydipsia, weight loss, generalised weakness, diurnal activity in nocturnal species and dehydration. Diarrhoea, although not described in other marsupials, occurs relatively frequently in macropods and may be associated with enteritis or enteric myositis (Canfield et al. 1990; Miller et al. 1992). Radiographic changes in macropods may include variable pulmonary patterns and cardiomegaly (Caross- ino et al. 2021; Lehman et al. 2022). Clinical signs in free- ranging marine mammals include stranding, emaciation, altered mentation and impaired navigation (Bowater et al. 2003; Donahoe et al. 2014; Cooper et al. 2016). Respiratory distress and hindlimb paresis were evident in a hand-reared spectacled flying-fox (Pteropus conspicilla- tus) with fatal toxoplasmosis (Sangster et al. 2012).4.
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