Toxoplasmosis can be deadly or cause severe eye and brain damage in infants whose mothers are infected during pregnancy. The illness is caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which can infect humans via soil, raw or undercooked meat, and cat feces.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that more than 60 million Americans carry the parasite, but few will exhibit symptoms.

The study of 131 women found that current clinical practice -- which includes a physical exam and taking a careful medical history -- would identify only about half of all at-risk mothers who've acquired toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. Screening using blood tests would have identified the rest of the at-risk mothers, the study concluded.

In the study, just 8 percent of mothers received blood screens for toxoplasmosis during their pregnancy. The researchers said that percentage is in keeping with current screening rates across the United States.

"We have medicines that can help if we catch the infection and improve outcomes if we detect the infection early, but by only taking a careful history and examination we are missing many pregnant women and their infants who may benefit from treatment," study co-author Dr. Rima McLeod, a professor of ophthalmology and medical director of the Toxoplasmosis Center at the University of Chicago, said in a prepared statement.

"Early detection and treatment of the T. gondii infection in the mother, fetus and infant can prevent or reduce the risks of ophthalmologic and/or neurologic damage," added co-author Dr. Kenneth Boyer, chairman of pediatrics at Rush University Medical Center.

SOURCE: University of Chicago Medical Center, news release, Feb. 8, 2005