The Korean Journal of Parasitology  2012;50(3):229-231

doi:10.3347/kjp.2012.50.3.229

Detection of Ocular Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Chronic Irregular Recurrent Uveitis by PCR.

Sang Eun LEE 1 ; Sung Hee HONG ; Seong Ho LEE ; Young Il JEONG ; Su Jin LIM ; Oh Woong KWON ; Sun Hyun KIM ; Young Sung YOU ; Shin Hyeong CHO ; Won Ja LEE

Affiliations

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Keywords

Toxoplasma gondii; toxoplasmosis; uveitis; nested PCR; B1 gene

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

English

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic parasite resulting in human infections and one of the infectious pathogens leading to uveitis and retinochoroiditis. The present study was performed to assess T. gondii infection in 20 ocular patients with chronic irregular recurrent uveitis (20 aqueous humor and 20 peripheral blood samples) using PCR. All samples were analyzed by nested PCR targeting a specific B1 gene of T. gondii. The PCR-positive rate was 25% (5/20), including 5% (1) in blood samples, 25% (5) in aqueous humor samples, and 5% (1) in both sample types. A molecular screening test for T. gondii infection in ocular patients with common clinical findings of an unclear retinal margin and an inflammatory membrane over the retina, as seen by fundus examination, may be helpful for early diagnosis and treatment.